


Bela Fortuna

by transfiguredtoad



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Duckling, F/M, past swanfire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:27:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21772948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transfiguredtoad/pseuds/transfiguredtoad
Summary: Emma, her brothers and her fiancé are on their way to Queen Elsa's wedding when their ship is boarded by pirates. Taken prisoner on their ship, Emma finds herself strangely drawn to the captain. Caught between duty to her kingdom and her own desires, she has to make a choice and watch as it affects everyone and everything she holds dear.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

“Mother, Emma will be fine,” Leopold assured his mother as they stood on the docks outside of the Bela Fortuna, praised as the most beautiful and fastest ship in the navy, captained by Edward Scarrett, the safest and most loyal man in Misthaven’s ranks. “Will, Tom and I will be there. We’ll be together again soon.”

Queen Snow understood all of that but still she worried. She would only be two weeks behind her children but had never been so far from all four of them at once. Swallowing her fears as her husband squeezed her arm, she nodded and embraced her eldest son, Leopold, before turning to her second and third and, finally, her daughter. At twenty, Emma was the darling of Misthaven, beautiful and charming alike, with few flaws that outsiders could see. She had been engaged for six years and would be married on her twenty-first birthday, protecting their kingdom and making her family proud.

Even so, Snow turned to her daughter and said, “Emma, my darling, are you sure you don’t want to follow your brothers with us in a few weeks? You could go horse-riding tomorrow and I’m going to visit the coast in a few days. You could come with me!”

Emma shook her head, the ringlets on either side of her face bouncing. “I can take care of myself, Mother,” she said exasperatedly. This was not their first conversation on the matter. Snow’s shoulders slumped and David chuckled at the last-ditch attempt. Emma smiled. “And I promised Elsa that I would be there early to help her prepare. Anna will be no help whatsoever. And, anyway, Prince Neal can hardly turn up without me. What would people say?”

Snow gave one final sigh and reached up to her slightly taller daughter for a hug. “Be careful,” she whispered in her ear, pressing a kiss to her temple before pulling away. 

“We’ll see you soon,” Emma said with one final beaming smile, before following her brother and betrothed up the gangway to the ship, where the crew was standing proudly to greet them.

Snow did not leave the port until the ship was safely away, barely a dot on the horizon, and David was guiding her slowly towards their carriage. Elsa’s wedding was an important event and one that Emma was very excited about, but Snow had a horrible feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. 

XXX

Princess Emma had always found that the sea soothed her to sleep. She would sleep better with the waves beneath her than with a steady ground. She woke up the morning after saying goodbye to her parents, in her private cabin, feeling fully rested. She lounged in bed for a while, reading the beginning of one of the books she had brought with her, then swung out of bed and dressed herself, washing her face and plaiting her hair back. Ringlets and other ornamental hair styles were no use on a ship, where the wind blew and rain fell. A plait was a far more practical hair do, even for a princess.

She ventured above deck and found that Misthaven was nowhere in sight. In fact, there was nothing to be seen but the sea and the sky. The air was salty and the wind was fierce. They were well and truly on their way.

It was Queen Elsa of Arendelle’s wedding. Emma had been sent to Arendelle for half a year when she was fifteen, when Elsa and Anna’s mother had taught her about marriage and customs and had generally taught her to be a charming princess. Since then, Emma and Elsa had been the best of friends. Emma made the journey to Arendelle for a month every year, making the month there and month back journeys worth it. She had spent longer there when Elsa’s parents had died and she was crowned queen, helping Anna to find her sister when her magic went haywire.

That was when Emma had discovered that she had her own magic. Of course, when she’d told her parents they had not been surprised, because of the Saviour thing, but it had shocked Emma and, ever since, she had practised on her own and then trained with Elsa when she went to Arendelle. The training had meant that Elsa and Emma understood each other better than anyone else.

Emma’s reverie was interrupted by the arrival of the captain by her side, as she leaned on the edge of the ship and embraced the harsh air. “Good morning, your highness,” Captain Scarrett said, inclining his head at her respectfully.

“Captain Scarrett,” Emma returned with a smile. “Is the ship sailing well today?” she asked politely though she knew that it was.

“Very well, your highness. Your brothers and betrothed are asking for you,” he said, nodding up at the helm of the ship where Leopold, Thomas, Will and Neal were standing, each watching the conversation between Emma and the captain.

Emma gave the captain another smile and he bowed slightly to her, before Emma strode over to the other side of the ship. Her elder brother, Leopold, greeted her with a kiss on each cheek, followed by Neal’s efforts of doing the same. Her two younger brothers, Thomas and Will, were each caught up in their own world of staring at the ship: Thomas with love and Will with unadulterated fear.

“How did you sleep, sister?” Leopold asked her, offering her his arm as they headed to the very edge of the helm, where the two sides of the ships came together to slam through every wave.

“Like a babe, Leo,” Emma said with a very happy smile. She felt as though she had not a care in the world. Her brothers by her side, on a ship towards her best friend’s wedding, even the prospect of spending three solid months with her betrothed wasn’t enough to turn Emma’s mood.

XXX

And so it went. For the next seven days, Emma woke and read and dressed and saw her brothers and ate breakfast and then she sewed or read some more or did other things that were appropriate for a princess and then they ate lunch and then tea and then she went to bed. And Emma did this on the seventh day too.

She’d gone to bed as usual, settling down in her cabin on her lovely mattress, her book discarded at her side, the bit of paper that she had used as a bookmark peeking out of the top. Sleep had come easily and Emma was happily in dreamland when a garbled scream from the decks above forced her from it. Throwing a robe over her petticoat, she ran from her cabin and up the stairs, regretting instantly the lack of stockings and shoes. On deck, she was greeted by the sight of the captain with a cutlass to his neck, more men - their attire suggested they were pirates - holding various weapons to other major members of the crew.

Soon, Emma had more to regret as her appearance above deck drew the attention of every person on the ship and the man holding Captain Scarrett chuckled darkly. Emma was not so far away that she could not see his smirk, as though he enjoyed threatening good men and scaring a crew of navy men.

“So, this is it, Captain?” he said. His voice was unlike anything Emma had ever heard. If she had to guess, she would have said he was from a kingdom on the other side of the world, where voices sounded like velvet and blue eyes flashed with dark joy. “The thing you are so desperate to protect,” he purred at Emma, tightening the cutlass at Captain Scarrett’s throat. Emma was not stupid enough to miss the desire in the captain’s eyes, though whether he desired her body or the rich dress she was wearing was anybody’s guess.

“Who is she?” the captain growled. Captain Scarrett’s throat bobbed and Emma’s fear caught in her throat. “I knew a ship of such fame and beauty as the Bela Fortuna was hardly just the ship going ahead to scout out.” Emma cursed the captain for his stupid lie. There were presents from Misthaven to Arendelle in the hold that should have been handed over immediately. Emma briefly wondered where her brothers were, where her husband-to-be was. Perhaps she could get them out of this, with danger to herself but none to her brothers and betrothed. If Neal died while with Emma and her brothers, Emma was quite certain that the protection and lack of war promised by his father would be rescinded. 

The cutlass drew closer to the captain’s throat. “Who is she?” the man hissed in the captain’s ear. Under the moonlight, Emma saw droplets of scarlet blood dripping down the captain’s neck.

Emma swallowed, sending a prayer up to the heavens and an apology to Elsa and her parents. “Stop,” she said and then more loudly, “Stop!” The captain grinned, the expression curling on his pouty lips and making his bright eyes narrow with pleasure. “My name is Emma and I am princess of Misthaven.” Emma’s voice shook though she hoped that the crew of the Bela Fortuna thought her brave, saw that she was risking her life to save theirs.

“No, your highness,” Captain Scarrett said in horror. The man who had come on board to threaten Bela Fortuna’s crew chuckled and loosened the cutlass at Captain Scarrett’s throat. Pushing the good man towards one of the other members of the crew, he revealed a hook at his left wrist. Emma’s breath caught in her chest as she recognised the identifying feature of Captain Hook, the Scourge of the Seas and the most feared pirate of their times.

“What do you want with this ship?” Emma asked as calmly as she could, pressing her hands against her skirts to stem their shaking. Her feet were seizing up from the cold, reminding Emma of the way her stockings were slung on her chair below, her shoes on the floor beside the chair haphazardly.

“My crew and I simply wanted treasure, your highness,” the man said, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip, “and it appears that we found some,” he said with a predatory look in his eyes. Emma thought of the stories that Granny had told them of pirates, thought of the way her father had discussed this man in their council meetings.

Captain Hook came right up to her face and stroked it with his good hand. Emma tingled from fear. “I think you’ll make for the perfect loot,” he whispered in her ear. Emma shivered and recoiled from him. He moved behind her swiftly and pulled her against him. Crying out softly, Emma felt her eyes fill with tears. She blinked them away as swiftly as she could.

“Now, Captain,” he said, turning back towards Captain Scarrett who was watching the scene with barely concealed teror. “Are you sure that the princess here is all that you are carrying? Because this is a mighty big ship for just one girl,” he said, running his hook down Emma’s side, brushing her breast and finishing just below her arse. Emma could feel his breath on the back of her neck, his hard chest against her back.

And, just as Emma thought that her plan might have worked, her elder brother, heir to Misthaven, came out from amongst the crowd of the low level sailors who had not been deemed enough of a risk for Hook’s pirates to hold them.

“Captain, I offer myself as a reward for you in exchange for my sister. I am the heir to Misthaven. I assure you I am worth far more than a girl,” Leopold said strongly. Emma swallowed and closed her eyes. Her brother had made a nice gesture but she knew that Hook was not so stupid as to replace one child of Misthaven with another - not when he could have both.

“Oh, how sweet,” Hook crooned, his hand tightening around Emma’s waist. “Take him,” he ordered, nodding at his crew. One of them dropped the pirate he was holding and took Leopold with little resistance from the crew of Bela Fortuna. Leopold held his hand up at the crew, in recognition of their good work, Emma supposed. Leopold was ever the perfect prince.

Emma could feel her breath quickening, could feel her tears needling at her eyes. She wished she could see her other brothers, that one last time she could see their faces. Will would be so scared.

“In fact, if there are two heirs here, what’s to say there aren’t another two, hmm?” Hook hissed in her ear. Emma jolted immediately and then widened her eyes with horror when she realised that she had confirmed Hook’s suspicions. “What are they called your brothers, Princess Emma? Why don’t you call for them?”

Emma did not. She would be their loot, would behave when she reached their ship but would do no more to bring her brothers to danger. It didn’t matter, though, for, when Hook started ordering the killings of the crew of Bela Fortuna, Thomas and Will revealed themselves quickly enough. Neal revealed himself too, as Thomas and Will moved, though he did not step forward and allow himself to be taken as Thomas and Will shakingly did.

Hook was drawing patterns on Emma’s waist. She did not want to hurry him, lest he think she was hiding something, but every moment that Neal was visible was another moment that Hook would figure out that he was not a sailor, that his clothes were too fine, that his stature was too wobbly to be used to the seas. A sob escaped from Emma’s throat.

“Don’t worry, princess,” Hook whispered in her ear, his finger and thumb pinching her hip. “There is worse to come.” With that, Hook ordered his crew to take Leopold, Thomas and Will into the small rowing boats which had brought them over to the Bela Fortuna. Emma looked over at the ship in the near distance, its black pirate flag almost invisible in the dark. Under the moonlight though, its gleaming red paint and proud mermaid at the helm belied the success of the ship and told Emma all she needed to know about the ship she was joining.

Fear had taken full grasp of her heart. Hook poked her in the back to make her walk towards the edge, where she would be lowered down and rowed over to the other ship, with Hook at her side all the way.

Emma thought that they had got away with saving Neal when Hook turned to give the ship one last look. He saw Neal fully then, understood immediately what his fancy clothes and clean-shaven face meant, and had him brought onto the final boat with Emma and Hook, the huge pirate ship in the distance casting a shadow on all that had been good and lovely for the past week.

They were tugged onto the ship roughly. Will tripped and fell and the crew laughed and mocked her brother. Emma blinked back tears. Will was not born for the seas. Emma did not have the chance to fall, as Captain Hook was there to take her hand and pull her aboard safely. He kept her close to him as the crew gathered to hear their captain speak. His hand caressed her waist almost lovingly, as though he were not a demon, as though he were anything less than a kidnapper and murderer.

“Welcome to the Jolly Roger!” Hook cried with a smirk and every member of his crew cheered. “I do hope that your stay here will be fruitful.” Every pirate laughed, crying with glee and making crude comments about the princess, the princes and the money that they would receive for capturing them. Hook rubbed a hand up and down Emma’s side, getting dangerously close to her arse. Briefly, Emma remembered Leopold punching Neal for touching her arse. She wondered if he would be able to control himself on the ship.

For the first time, Emma wondered what they were going to do to her. They were going to ransom all five of them eventually, but what would they do while they were waiting for her parents to send back the money? Emma had heard tales of pirates with girls, heard tales of not understanding the word no. Swallowing, Emma wondered whether she had the strength to endure it.

Hook was still laughing as he ordered that they be escorted to the ‘royal quarters’, which were revealed to be the brig, a dark, cold and dingy prison cell barely large enough for all four of them. Emma’s feet were so cold now that she worried she would have to amputate them.

One of the pirates lit a lantern and then each of the pirates that had accompanied them stripped her brothers and took anything of value, more pirates returning with clothes and shoes that were worth far less. Emma averted her eyes from her brothers’ and betrothed’s humiliation and felt tears come to her eyes yet again at the thought that they would do the same to her.

Before they could, Hook whispered to her, “Do you have anything to hide, princess? Any pretty jewels? Show me now and I will spare you, I promise.” 

Emma understood that Hook was offering her a gentleman’s promise, that would allow her virtue and modesty to remain intact. She was not sure whether she could trust his word but it was worth going along with it anyway, if only to show that she would not cause him any trouble. Emma removed her necklace and a brooch from the front of her dress and then reached for her engagement ring, ignoring the scoff of disgust she heard coming from Neal. She realised without much surprise that taking this piece of jewellery off didn’t faze her so much as taking off her beloved necklace had. 

Captain Hook chuckled. “You are betrothed, your highness,” he stated and Emma only nodded once. Hook pulled her more tightly against him. Emma could not see where his eyes were but she could see that Neal’s were on the captain’s. “Is this your betrothed, your highness?” he asked her very lowly, the murmur sending shivers down her spine. He laughed, a quiet, mocking sound. “And to think you didn’t even consider not giving me that ring. I suppose you do not love him, then.” Emma did not give that a response. Hook released her and pushed her fully into the brig.

“Come, men, let’s leave the royalty to sleep in their new chambers,” he said with a filthy smirk at them. “Unless the princess would like to keep me company instead.” Emma inhaled sharply, her eyes widening and her throat closing in fear. Hook only laughed and closed the bars to the brig, locking them with a key that was then placed in his pocket. His wink was the last thing Emma saw before the lantern disappeared along with the pirates.


	2. Chapter 2

Thomas cursed, Leopold groaned loudly and Will sat down and leaned his head against the somehow wet walls, his head rolling as if in exhaustion. Emma agreed with all three reactions. The situation was desperate.

“What are we going to do?” Leopold said. Emma could hardly see him in the darkness but she heard him sit down, the fabric of his clothes shifting as he took a seat beside Will. 

“Mother and Father will send the money,” Will said quietly. Emma knew that what Will said was true. She knew that the experience would end. She wasn’t worried about being here forever. She was worried about being here for now.

“We all know that, Will,” Leopold snapped. Emma swallowed her annoyance at Leo’s tone. “But it could be three months until it arrives. Bela Fortuna has to get to Arendelle and they have to get money from the treasury and they have to find us. What are they going to do to us until then? What are they going to do with Emma?”

Emma closed her eyes, not that it made much of a difference in the dark. She knew what Leopold was talking about. She knew that the threat of rape was high, that it was the biggest threat to her, that she was the one who was in the most danger on the boat.

“The captain was already touching her,” Neal said. Emma thought that he was sitting on the other side of Leopold but she couldn’t see, nor really tell where his voice was coming from. “He was touching her as though he had a right to her.”

Emma didn’t have anything to say. The captain had been touching her, had rubbed his hand against her hip, but he had not touched her arse or her breasts. She had no idea if that was him saving the goods for a while longer, or if he was a man who would not touch her without her consent. Emma didn’t hold her hopes very high.

Even if the captain didn’t touch her, she remembered the way that the other pirates had leered at her. Getting out of this experience with her virginity, without being raped and hurt, would be a real challenge. Emma’s heart sank. She had no hope of leaving intact.

XXX

The night passed more slowly than any of them could have imagined. Sleep came to none of them. With each hour that passed, Thomas, Leo and Neal came up with more escape plans that were increasingly stupid and likely to get them killed. Emma didn’t participate and nor did Will. She knew they were not getting away until her parents sent the money. And where would they go anyway? The only escape in the ocean was death and Emma was not yet ready to die.

The banging on the bars of the brig startled Emma, as did a sudden flaring of light from a lantern. It was one of the men from the crew. “Up and at ‘em,” the pirate shouted. “The captain’s coming to see you.” He smirked and, with the light of his lantern, Emma noticed that he had three missing teeth, at the very least. He unlocked the brig.

Emma watched as her brothers and her fiance stood. She did the same. Hook strode into the brig, an arrogance in every step. “Good morning, princess,” he said to her, taking her hand and kissing it softly. Emma would have loved to say that his lips were too wet and too slobbery but they weren’t. They were soft and smooth and his eyes were shining with amusement as they looked up at her. 

He pulled away and Emma stepped close to Leo. Hook cleared his throat and pointed to Emma’s brothers and betrothed. “The four of you will be joining my crew for the entirety of your stay here on the Jolly Roger.” Emma heard Will’s shaky intake of breath.

“The four of them?” Emma repeated, furrowing her brow. “And what am I to do? Just sit in here all day?” The thought of it scared Emma. It wasn’t that she was scared of the dark. It was that she was scared of being alone, on a ship of pirates who had been missing companionship, missing a woman. Emma would be there, just lying in wait for any of them to come and attack her.

Hook turned to her and Emma wondered if perhaps she should have just shut up as his eyes darkened. “You can’t very well go and help out with the crew, can you, princess?” Hook told her, turning and eliciting laughter from the few members of his crew who stood behind him. Emma felt anger swell inside her.

“I could!” Emma protested but her voice was small and she knew it was a silly thing to ask for.

Hook scoffed, narrowing his eyes. Emma swallowed. “You think you’re as strong as any of my crew, or your brothers? Or even the weakling you’re going to marry?” he said.

“I-” Emma obviously did not think any of those things. She knew that she had had a different education than her brothers, though she could sword-fight or shoot an arrow as well as any of them. She simply did not know anything about working on a ship, unlike her three brothers and her fiancée who had spent time in the navy.

“And even if you were,” Hook continued, “there are thirty men up there who haven’t had a woman in almost a month. It is truly for your safety that you’re not going to be working with them.” He said it as though he was leaving Emma there for her own sake, as though any of this was for her own good.

Emma gave him that one. She hadn’t considered that being up there would also entice them into wanting her. “Okay,” she agreed, “but surely there’s something for me to do. Please don’t make me stay down here,” she asked, her voice shaking but quiet. Hook rolled his eyes, folding his arms and turning his laughter to his crew again. They smirked and chuckled. Emma felt her heart race, feeling as though she were missing part of a joke. 

“I’m sure there’s some sewing you can do,” he said, his smirk dying down for an instant before appearing again as though nothing had happened. “Or, if you’d rather, I could find a job for you in my cabin,” Hook said, tongue running across his top lip and eyes all sultry. The brief falter of his smirk suggested to Emma that this was an act.

She pursed her lips, ignoring the rage rolling off of her brothers. “I think I’ll stick to sewing, if it’s all the same, Captain. I wouldn’t want to mix up my roles and prick you with anything.” She let her tongue hang for a moment, cocking one eyebrow.

The captain’s eyes flashed but with amusement rather than anger. “Oh, love, you’re missing the general dynamics. I assure you, it would be me pricking you.” Emma flushed at the implication, hearing the sharp intake of breath from Thomas, the feistiest of her brothers.

“I hope that you’ll leave the needles to me then, Captain,” Emma said with what she hoped was a strong tone of finality. The last thing she needed was Thomas lashing out at the pirates and earning himself a punishment - though what one could experience worse than the brig was a mystery to Emma, since they surely wanted them all alive to receive the ransom money.

The captain smirked sultrily at her with a wink. “Come along, then, above deck with the lads, to the washing room for the princess.”

“Stop flirting with him. You’re only egging him on,” Thomas hissed in her ear, hand hard on her elbow, and Emma pulled roughly away from him, wishing she had inherited some of her father’s height and it hadn’t all gone to her brothers.

“I wasn’t,” Emma said angrily, though she did briefly wonder if maybe she had been. She’d never flirted with anybody in her life. She’d known that she would marry Prince Neal since she was younger, so she hadn’t ever really had the opportunity. Emma wondered if Prince Neal had noticed. She wondered if he cared.

Emma shrugged it off. She didn’t think she’d be allowed to marry Prince Neal anyway after this. To have been taken hostage on a pirate ship was to have lost all virtue and why would a kingdom want their heir to marry a princess with no virtue? If she were honest, she thought she might have dodged an arrow there. She couldn’t imagine spending the rest of her life with a man like Neal, who rarely showed her any emotion or interest. She wasn’t particularly attracted to him either. After growing up around her parents, she thought that she’d find true love and she’d be happy, but, when Neal’s kingdom threatened to invade her kingdom, Emma had offered herself instead. It had been a difficult decision, but, at the time, she knew that it had been the best one. It didn’t take her long to begin to regret it. She’d only been twelve and suddenly had felt suffocated in that her plan had been mapped out for the rest of her life.

XXX

A basket sat in front of Emma, full of clothing. She was confined to a room below deck, despite her initial hopes of being above deck with the boys. She was scrubbing each piece of clothing on a board and then hanging them up to dry, all the while ensuring that there were no holes or rips in any piece and, if there were, she was to sew them up. It was simple, boring work that the castle servants had always done for her, but it was better than sitting in the brig all day.

“How’s it going, lass?” she heard from the door. The voice startled her, made the hairs on her neck stand on end. She turned her head with a scowl, finding Captain Hook standing there, leaning against the door post in what she assumed he thought was a sexy manner.

“Do you need something else?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow at him while continuing the washing. He strode over to her in two steps.

“Not really, love, other than a glimpse of that beautiful face,” he said, caressing her cheek with his hook. The cold sensation made her stomach flip and her lips parted. “And, of course, to check that you’re still hard at work. I can’t have the crew of the fastest ship on the waves looking shabby, now can I?” he told her in that jolly fake pirate tone with a wink.

With that, he left and Emma rolled her eyes, sitting back down to her work, almost grateful for the short distraction from the boring work.

XXX

Albatross, one of Hook’s crew, escorted Emma, his grubby hand on her bare arm, to the place where the crew ate, the galley. Upon entry, she saw her three brothers and her fiancé, sitting in the centre of the table, flanked by the rest of the crew. Hook himself sat next to Leopold and chatted merrily with the crewman on his other side, the portly man named Smee. Albatross led Emma to sit between her other two brothers, Will and Thomas, opposite Leopold, who had Prince Neal sitting next to him. Hook’s blue eyes were on her immediately.

“Ah, the princess, I trust you enjoyed your day of work?” Hook asked her with a teasing smile. The crew, who had quieted respectfully to listen to their captain, chuckled and whispered between themselves. Emma did not want to know what they were saying. She had a strong feeling that it was distasteful.

“Oh, every second of it,” Emma replied with a sardonic smile. She heard Will intake his breath sharply beside her. Hook narrowed his eyes at her.

“Watch your tone, princess, for my crew and I are not your subjects. Your place on this ship is not above ours,” he warned her and Emma nodded curtly. She had forgotten her place, if she was honest. Hook was flirty and often gentlemanly, but it was all a front. He was a pirate and dangerous and she needed to watch herself. 

With one final piercing look at her, Hook turned to Neal. “So, Neal, was it?” he said. Emma watched the captain carefully.

“Yes,” Neal replied shortly. 

“And what kingdom are you prince of, may I ask?” Hook asked casually. Emma tensed, watching as Neal’s face altered slightly. She may not love her betrothed, but she would say that she knew him better than most people. When she turned fifteen, she’d spent a few months living with him and then he had come to live with her and so it continued. She’d had four years to decide that she was never going to love him as a wife loved a husband and in those four years she’d got to know him very well. 

“What, so you can ransom me?” Neal demanded, hackles raised. Emma knew it was not wise to annoy the captain, especially after that reaction to her sarcasm. He was master of their fate for the coming months and so far life wasn’t so hard. He could make it much harder for them.

Hook snarled at Neal. “I can ransom you either way, you stupid bastard, or would your betrothed’s parents not put up the funds? I’ve heard stories about the wonderful Queen Snow and Prince James. So kind, so giving. Just tell me what kingdom you’re the prince of.”

“Soseia,” Neal admitted reluctantly. Emma watched Hook’s reaction. He kept it carefully under wraps but she was good with knowing how people felt. He’d been momentarily surprised. There had been something in his eyes. Something like recognition. Which, of course, was normal. Soseia was almost as big of a kingdom as Misthaven, or the Enchanted Forest as it was often called. It was also more powerful. For some reason, Soseia had produced more witches and wizards over the past century than was natural and their army was almost half made up of magic users.

“What a powerful match, the heir of Soseia and the only princess of Misthaven,” Hook mocked, raising a glass. Emma felt a twinge in her stomach. It was a powerful match. How she wished it wasn’t. “Raise a glass, crew, to the everlasting happiness and pleasure the two may gain from one another,” he leered. The crew jeered. An uncomfortable feeling grew in her stomach and she looked at the door. She would have loved to storm out, to leave and go and lie down and be on her own, even if it had to be in the brig.

Thankfully, Hook quieted after that, allowing his first mate, Smee, to lead the conversation.

XXX

Emma slept fitfully. She thought she may have had about four hours in total. A crew member whose name Emma didn’t know escorted her to the room she’d been in for the past few days, where there was another load of clothes and sheets to wash. 

It wasn’t complicated work and it allowed Emma to think. Selfishly, she wondered whether she should have taken the later boat with her parents. Maybe she would’ve been more help to her brothers on the other side of the bargain. Although, she couldn’t see how. She’d never been much help to anyone really. It was her fault that they were all aboard this godforsaken ship. If she’d not been so stupid to just climb above deck without finding out what was going on first, then they wouldn’t have been caught.

Emma sighed and picked up her next item of clothing to wash. Her hands were red raw from the work, but she didn’t really mind. If she was honest, it was nice to be doing something. Of course, she did some things as a princess. There were visits and she went riding and she helped villages, but there was no physical labour involved, not really. The servants did all of this sort of thing.

She lived such a privileged life. She wasn’t complaining whatsoever, but she had no real life experience. She was protected, by her parents, by her subjects, by her brothers, even by Prince Neal. It was exhausting. She was grateful. Many people didn’t know what it was like to be loved by so many. She knew any one of them would lay down their life for her, and she would do the same for them. Not that they’d let her. Another one of them would jump in front of her just in time.

When she got home, Emma was going to change a lot of things. She wasn’t going to do this anymore, be the poor innocent princess. She could defend herself, her father had taught her how to fight. What had been the point of that if she could never actually use a sword? As soon as she got off this cursed ship, she would tell her parents that things were going to be different from now on. Remembering that that was likely to be a few months away, Emma sighed and pursed her lips.

“You know, if you do that too much, your lips will stick that way,” she heard from the door. Emma twisted and saw the cocky captain standing there, a dim light in his hand, leaning against the doorframe. Emma scowled and the captain chuckled. “The day shift and I were just about to indulge in our midday meal, and I wondered if you would grant us your company,” he told her, informing her rather than asking her. Emma stood up and dusted down her skirts.

“Lead the way, Captain,” she said with a tight smile. He chuckled and casually slung his arm around her waist, his fingers curling tightly against her. When they arrived at the galley, Emma felt a bit of apprehension.

The galley was a place of noise and laughter. The pirates chatted between bites of their food and glugging down their rations of ale. Emma noticed that her brother, Thomas, was talking to one of the pirates. Thomas had always had a love for the sea, and Emma thought it likely that he would have found it easy to come up with a topic for conversation with a pirate. William, however, looked as though he would rather be anywhere else. He was sat stiffly, his shoulders bunched and his face set in a scowl. Her poor brother did not cope well in noisy environments, nor in crowds. He was much better on his own, or in small groups. He didn’t really know how to hold a conversation with someone he didn’t know and Emma’s heart ached for him to be put in this situation. Her older brother, Leopold, was not talking either, though Emma knew this to be more about protecting himself and the kingdom than social awkwardness. Missing, however, was Neal.

Emma furrowed her brow. Hook pulled her tight against his side. “Missing your lover?” he asked her salaciously. Emma shrugged him off and immediately regretted it when he grabbed her wrist tightly. “Answer my question,” he asked with clenched teeth.

“He’s not my lover,” she told him furiously.

“Ah, of course not,” Hook continued the conversation, but at a louder volume. “Because the perfect princess is a perfect virgin,” he mocked. The crew laughed and jeered. “I’m sure there’s many a man on this vessel who would be all too willing to change that, darling,” he said, looking around to his crew who seemed to perk up interestedly. Emma’s heart froze. The thought of it disgusted her. She met eyes with Leopold, whose face was bright red. His jaw was set. “A man does so love a virgin,” he finished to the cheers of the crew and his own laughter. Emma’s throat felt thick.

The captain sat Emma opposite him and she wished she was still in that small room, washing clothes. Emma began to eat, the pirate fare nothing like her food at home, but not awful. The crew member next to her, a man she had learned was called Avery, placed his hand on her leg and Emma jerked, blinking back sudden tears from her eyes. Her heart clenched with fear, her mind clouding.

Emma shifted herself and the pirate smirked at her, shifting with her and edging his hand upwards. Emma’s stomach turned and she abruptly stood. “Princess, you have not been dismissed,” the captain stated and she could see the ire in his eyes. “This is not your kingdom. You answer to me here.”

Emma shook her head. This wasn’t going to happen to her. She was backing herself towards the door. “Please.”

Hook stood, smirking. “Well, darling, if you’re that desperate to get back to your work, then who am I to deny you? The work is for the ship, after all,” he allowed her and the relief that flowed through Emma’s body was enough to make her fall back against the wall she had backed herself up to. Reaching her, Hook wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her out of the galley.

As soon as they left the galley and were far enough away that no one would hear them, Hook’s anger returned. “Would you mind telling me what in the seven hells that was all about, Princess?”

Emma stammered, “I- I- I will not willingly! I won’t!”

Hook seemed to understand what she meant. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I have two rules, codes I suppose one would call them: never fight a man without the means to defend himself and never touch a woman without her consent. What I said in there was merely in jest, a sort of punishment for your cheek.”

“Then maybe you should tell your crew that!” Emma spat and Hook’s eyes narrowed.

“Who?” he ground out.

“Avery,” Emma muttered, “he almost had his hand on my- on my-”

Hook held up his hand. “I understand.”

XXX

The next morning, the crew and the prisoners watched as Avery had twenty lashes administered to his back. Emma, being a woman, had not been allowed to watch. Her brothers had told her about it at their midday meal. Supposedly, when Hook had finished, Avery collapsed against the mast and Hook offered him his hand. This was a general sign of forgiveness upon the ship, Emma had discovered from Thomas whose extensive navy experience helped them all out in such matters. Hook pulled him up and Avery blubbered out some thank yous, quite pathetically according to Thomas’ savage retelling. Hook chuckled darkly and then he flung the man off his ship and into the ocean. There was a collective gasp across the ship.

At dinner that night, when Emma was there and the shock and unhappiness at Avery’s death had been allowed to fester all day, Hook looked across at his men as he informed them why Avery had been killed at dinner.

When he was finished, and Emma’s brothers were looking less hatefully at Hook, and more in thanks, Hook hissed at the room, “I trust this punishment will not be repeated.” They affirmed his statement, with a chorus of “aye aye, Captain” and he grinned at them menacingly. Emma felt a part of herself relax. She may not be in a safe environment, but this man was going to ensure that she was not touched inappropriately and that was an assurement that she had been in need of.


	3. Chapter 3

The days passed slowly on the ship. Some days, Emma was doing the washing and sewing she was used to, which gave her lots of time to think and worry. Other days, there was no time to think as she helped the cook, Borden, in the galley. Borden was a strange man. He seemed to be kindly, to her at least, but he was respected across the ship and called “bloodthirsty” by the more open gossiping pirates among the crew. On the other days Emma had been there, she’d been cleaning, more exhausting work. She’d clean the galley after meals, or the area where the crew slept, ensuring that she was quiet in order that the night shift remained asleep. On those days, she found she had little problem falling asleep, even in the brig.

After the evening meal, she, her brothers and Prince Neal would be sent back down to the brig. Emma found herself growing to know her brothers better in seeing their reactions to the situation. Leopold had risen to the occasion, of course. He was cool and collected. He didn’t rise to Hook’s bait, or any of the other pirates’ for that matter. Emma knew they were taunting her brothers and the prince about what they would do with Emma. Leopold could deal with it. 

Thomas, however, had always been a hothead. On a few days, Thomas had been sent to the brig early, with no food, for fighting with the pirates and, on a few others, he’d found himself tied to the lashing post. Thomas was as good as any of them with a sword, but he, of course, didn’t have one on the ship. Emma knew that, if the five of them weren’t so valuable to the pirates, Thomas would have been run through with a sword by now.

Will didn’t cope. He didn’t like sailing; he didn’t like being with lots of people. Being taunted irritated him quickly but he wasn’t quick witted like Thomas. His irritation only spurred the other pirates on. Emma was sure that she had never hated anyone as much as the men who taunted her younger brother.

Neal was almost as bad as Thomas. He hated the lewd comments that were made about Emma and was constantly defending her, though Emma did not appreciate the effort. She understood the lesson that was taught to children: ignoring something generally made it go away, but reacting to it only spurred it on further.

“Princess, the galley is sparkling,” Hook said to Emma as he interrupted her musings. She’d been cleaning the galley before dinner. “However can I thank you?” he whispered in her ear, the breath warm and even against her skin. Emma’s breath caught and she knew that he noticed as his smirk spread across his face. “No witty come back, your highness?” he continued in hushed tones. “Are you feeling quite well? You look rather flushed.”

Emma met his eyes. He was flirting with her, of course, but how should she respond? She’d stopped giving cheek a few days ago. The consequences weren’t worth it. When Thomas gave cheek, he found himself on the lashing post and, although Emma had not been allowed to watch it either time, the knowledge had horrified her. It was a typical navy punishment that Thomas had received before but Emma assumed that it was harsher under the hands of pirates. 

“Well, princess?” Hook prompted, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He was too close for comfort and Emma’s chest was heaving.

“I’m quite well, thank you, Captain,” Emma responded without a stutter. Her lips quirked upwards, proud of herself for not reacting to his teasing. Hook’s smirk deepened.

“I do love this demure act, Emma,” he hissed in her ear, putting his hand on her hipbone and evidently enjoying her sharp intake of breath as his eyes lit up, “but don’t get complacent. I know it’s all fake. I know you would love to slap my hand away right now or tell me to fuck off.” Emma’s eyes reached up to his eyes, so blue it almost hurt. She would definitely like to slap his hand away. Telling him to fuck off would be quite satisfying too. “Now, be a good girl and go and help Borden bring dinner in.”

As he said the last part, he stepped away from her, his hand leaving her hip and his eyes leaving hers. Freezing for a moment to watch him leave her presence, Emma shook herself and scurried away from the galley to the kitchen.

XXX

It was a few days later that the first truly bad thing happened. Emma had been helping Borden prepare for lunch when they heard a scream from the deck. A scream was a good signal that something out of the ordinary was happening, though shouts were regular occurances. Borden gave her a grin as he dashed out of the kitchen. Emma had to hitch her dress up to keep pace with him. For the first time, she saw the bloodlust that others had described in the man who had taught her to knead bread.

They arrived above deck, Emma panting slightly at the exertion, and saw Prince Neal on the lashing post. Emma’s eyes closed in anticipation for what was to come. “Not gonna go and save your lover, Princess?” Borden said loudly, drawing the attention of everyone on deck. She gave him a dirty look, wrinkling her nose and glaring as venemously as she could. She didn’t want to watch this. Knowing that Thomas had been tied to that post, twice, had been incredibly difficult. She couldn’t imagine watching it. She hadn’t even been allowed to watch Avery’s lashing.

She found Leopold staring at her cautiously from the other side of the ship. She wondered how he thought she was going to react. She wondered if he knew that she wasn’t in love with Neal like she purported to be. If anyone knew, it would be Leo. 

The man administering the lashes, Hook’s first mate, found her with his eyes as they searched the deck for reactions from the crew between strokes of the whip. From here, Emma could see that it was the feared cat o’ nine tails, famous as the pirate’s weapon for discipline. 

“Captain?” the first mate said, turning to Hook who stood at the wheel surveying the scene. The captain looked away from Neal, whose back was bloody and red, and found Emma quickly. She watched him grimace.

He summoned her over, “Princess, over here.” When she didn’t move, Borden gave her a shove over in Hook’s direction. Emma realised that her whole face was crumpled in fear as she walked up the small set of stairs to where Hook was. She couldn’t read his face. “You just watch the sea, okay?” he told her, giving her a tap on the shoulder, as though pushing her over to the prow of the ship.

Emma scowled but did as he asked. She did not want to watch this, but she thought she would have preferred to go below deck. She supposed that the sea was a much more pleasant sight. But then she heard the first lash and she gasped. Hook’s arms were on the boat either side of her right away. Emma’s eyes were drawn to his hook, which glinted in the sunlight. “Don’t,” he hissed in her ear. Emma didn’t know what he thought she was going to do. She didn’t know what she was going to do. “Stay here. It’s for your own good.” Half of Emma’s mouth smiled at the thought that Hook too thought that Emma loved Neal and then fell again at the sound of Neal’s scream. She didn’t say anything.

“Do you love him?” Hook asked her, directly in her ear, the breath tickling her and making her squirm. She found that his body was very close behind hers. Emma stopped breathing for just a second. To distract herself from the pants, grunts, cheers and screams, she began to tell the captain the story.

“His kingdom was going to invade ours. I couldn’t let that happen. Our army is nowhere near as strong as theirs. So, I offered myself,” she told him simply, wincing as she heard another lash and scream from her fiancé.

“Awfully brave, princess, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

She shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes as she admitted it to someone else for the first time ever. She’d told her parents that she loved him. They blamed themselves and she wanted to make it easier on them, so she lied. She did the same to her brothers, and then the kingdom. And then Neal.

Emma stared at the sea, watching each wave overlap the next. Maybe she could just run away. Would Neal’s kingdom punish hers? Emma almost scoffed aloud at herself for thinking about it. Of course they would. Rumplestiltskin was the most afeared leader in all the kingdoms of the Enchanted Forest.

Hook was silent after Emma’s declaration and she wondered what he was thinking. She wondered why he’d asked. “Does he love you?” he asked after a long period broken up by lashes and screams.

Emma shrugged. “I don’t think so. I can’t imagine he does.” Hook scoffed but didn’t elaborate on the sound. “He was forced into this,” she explained. “I at least volunteered myself. He didn’t get a choice, as far as I know anyway. I’m not even the heir to the kingdom. What did he receive from us really?”

“An alliance?” Hook suggested.

“They’d have had their alliance if they’d railroaded our kingdom. I have never understand why their kingdom agreed. His father is always very cryptic about the agreement,” Emma said, wincing at the next lash and shout. Furrowing her brow and staring at the white foam forming on a big wave, she asked, “what did he do?”

“Tried to jump into the ocean,” Hook growled and she gasped, almost turning to look at the captain to ascertain if he was joking. He continued before she had to. “He planned to steal the row boat first and row away.” Emma’s brows drew close together. “Did you know he was planning that?” Emma shook her head, staring out towards the sea. She didn’t think Neal loved her, but she’d thought they were friends at most, allies at the least. If he was going to try and escape, he could have offered to take one of them with him. Perhaps he knew that they would have all said no, because it was never going to work.

“A coward’s trick,” Hook breathed in Emma’s ear. Emma nodded absently and then felt Hook pull away. “Dump him in the brig,” she heard him say from behind a cloud of thought, continuing to stare out at the vast ocean.

XXX

Neal healed over the next few days, just as Thomas had. He didn’t speak to any of them and Emma couldn’t bring it to herself to care. She wondered whether he still planned on marrying her, or whether she was free. And, if she was free, was her kingdom? Or would his kingdom invade in retribution? She’d shared her fears with her older brother and he had confessed that he had had similar thoughts, which made Emma feel even worse. If Leo was thinking them, they were logical, reasonable thoughts, not the thoughts of a woman going mad from too much time on her own.

Many would assume that Emma’s virtue had been sullied by her time on the pirate’s ship, so would the people of Neal’s kingdom even want them to marry? Would she always be seen as sullied goods? It was a complicated situation and she wouldn’t get an answer for a good while.

It had been two weeks since they’d arrived on the pirate ship and no word had come from her parents, meaning that Captain Scarrett had not found her parents on the route back to Misthaven and he had started out towards Arendelle. It would be two weeks until her parents would arrive in Arendelle and then they would know something had happened. In three weeks, Scarrett would tell them what that was.

“You know, your brother isn’t too bad of a sailor,” Hook’s voice came behind her, making her needle freeze in her hand.

“You mean Thomas?” she returned, pulling the string through the fabric of the stocking. She didn’t turn to see him.

“Indeed, lass. It seems as though he was made to be on the water. William, however,” he trailed off and Emma laughed, happy to have company. It had been hours, she thought, since the last conversation she had with anyone but herself and she was lonely. She’d never had so much time on her own before, in a castle full of family, servants and guests.

“Will never took to sailing as Thomas did,” she explained though most of her focus was on her mending. “They’ve each spent some years in the navy, but Will hated it. Leo and Thomas stayed on, but Will got out as soon as possible. He’s more for the books,” she informed him as she finished sewing up a hole in a pair of pants. Then, she turned to the captain, who was dressed in a bright red vest to complement his black leather get up. Against her better will, Emma considered that the captain looked very dashing.

“We’re to make port, princess,” Hook told her, a few seconds later. “I’m afraid you’ll have to return to the brig.” The thought wasn’t exactly pleasant. The brig was small and cramped. It stank and it was constantly dark. Emma knew that her feelings were reflected in her face when Hook said, “Do you not enjoy the brig, princess?” Emma scowled, but didn’t speak. It was not worth aggravating the captain. “Tell me, darling, how is the brig unsatisfactory for you? I promise that this is no jape or trick.”

Emma worried her bottom lip. “It’s dark and cold, it smells awful and there’s no room to move,” she stated simply. Hook nodded and they didn’t speak another word as he offered her his arm and escorted her to the brig.

“Goodbye,” he said softly, drawing Emma’s attention to his lips, smooth as a girl’s, as he locked her in with her brothers and betrothed. Emma’s mouth opened to reply, but he had already left. Two pirates remained to guard them, as usual.

Emma sunk down against the fraction of wall that remained after the four other bodies had claimed their own. “Good day?” Leopold asked her quietly. Emma shrugged. Nothing changed from day to day for her, really. Every day was average, just waiting for her parents to send the money that freed them. And then she could go back to normal, day-to-day life. Back to being a princess.

“How about you?” Emma returned. Leopold scowled.

“It’s like working with heathens,” he muttered as softly as he could, careful not to allow the guards to hear them lest they decide to punish them. Emma didn’t reply to her brother’s comment. Captain Hook certainly wasn’t a heathen. Emma thought he was quite intelligent and well-spoken for a pirate. The others did fall into Leopold’s categorisation, but not Hook.

“Has he spoken to you at all?” Emma practically breathed, inclining her head at Neal, and Leopold shook his head. Neal had harder work and longer hours, now, because of what he had done and Emma couldn’t even say she was sorry. Her surprise was that the rest of them weren’t being punished for it. She supposed that Hook was fair in that way.

XXX

“The Captain wishes to see the princess,” one of the guards at the door informed the five prisoners squashed into the brig. In surprise, all five looked up, including Neal. Emma shared a confused look with Leopold, who gave her a blank look. Emma stood, her legs slightly shaky. What on earth could the captain possibly want?

“Don’t go, Emma,” Thomas said quickly, grabbing her hand. Her brothers and Neal had all thought that Emma was naive to believe Hook’s threats that anyone who touched her would face the same fate as Avery. They’d thought that Hook just wanted to have her first, but Emma knew better. She’d seen the flash in his eyes when she’d told him what Avery had tried to do. She knew that nobody would have her in that way on this ship.

Emma shook Thomas’ hand away, before the pirates could even draw their cutlasses. “It’s fine, Thomas. I’ll be back soon.”

One of the pirates, Orfeo she thought his name was, led her to the captain’s cabin, her heart beating wildly underneath her corset. “Try to enjoy yourself,” Orfeo hissed as he knocked on the captain’s door. Clearly the crew thought the same as Emma’s brothers. They all had an inferior opinion of the captain. Hook opened the door and immediately dismissed Orfeo, who skulked off, leaving Emma feeling repulsed.

“Evening, Princess,” Hook greeted, that casual smile playing at his lips. Emma hated that every time she saw this man, this pirate that was keeping her brothers, and indeed her, captive on his ship, her heart skipped a beat. He somehow looked more attractive than usual, hair tousled from his trip to the port.

“Good evening, Captain,” Emma replied quietly. Here, alone, far from anyone else, she would not do anything to entice his anger. She had no means with which to defend herself. He stepped to one side, leaning against his door, and, with a sweeping gesture, admitted her into his cabin.

When, on the way to the cabin, she had imagined Hook’s chambers, she’d thought of a huge, sprawling bed and jewels decorating every wall. There would be art or tapestries hung and a big window that he could see into the sea with.

What she found was quite different. Hook’s bed wasn’t much bigger than the crew’s. It was certainly no match for the beautiful four-poster that greeted her when she entered her own chambers back at their castle. Beside the bed was a small table, where a bottle of rum and a telescope sat, along with a book of some sort. There were more books to be found around the room, on the three bookshelves Hook had. Scanning the titles, Emma saw some of the classics she herself had read, but also books of sealore and maps. The walls, unlike Emma’s imaginations of art and jewels, were mostly bare, save one small pencil drawing of a ship that adorned the wall.

“If you’re quite finished admiring my cabin, princess, we can begin to eat,” Hook interrupted dryly, bringing Emma’s attentions to the small dining table with a plush chair on either side. The captain pulled one chair out for her and Emma sat down as gracefully as a dirty princess could, pushing her tangled hair behind her ear.

Before her sat a wonderful smelling sort of stew. “It is rabbit,” Hook informed her, as he sat down, watching her look into the bowl in front of her. “We have salted meat stores aboard our ship and I thought I would treat you to something other than fish.” Emma smiled gratefully. Although nothing like what she was used to at the castle, the rabbit stew in front of her looked wonderfully appetising.

Emma picked up the slice of bread on the side plate and dipped it into the rich sauce which accompanied the rabbit. Hook continued to say, “Borden can make quite decent food sometimes, especially when I give him the right sort of motivation.” Emma giggled lightly. She could only imagine what that was. All of her focus was on the food in front of her, the richest thing she had eaten since being on the ship. She had a feeling her stomach would turn funnily that evening.

“Are you enjoying that, princess?” Hook asked her. Emma nodded enthusiastically. Hook chuckled and Emma looked up, a bit surprised at the sound. She found his eyes alight with amusement. “I don’t believe I have ever seen anyone quite so grateful for a rabbit stew, certainly not anyone of royalty.”

Emma smiled. “I was growing rather fed up of fish,” she informed him.

“You happened to join our crew as we were completing our final few weeks before port. We have rather stocked back up today,” he told her and she gave him a smile, the thought of more meat and less fish quite pleasing to her. Her brothers, too, would be grateful of more protein. The pleasant phrasing of ‘join our crew’ did amuse her, also, but she tried to hide that.

“So, princess, how are things with your betrothed?” Hook asked, once they had both completed their meals. Emma tried not to bristle. She knew that he was trying to antagonise her and she wouldn’t let him. Considering how to answer, Emma wiped her mouth with the tips of her fingers for lack of a handkerchief.

She decided to go with the truth. Her parents had always taught her that the truth was worth ten times a lie. “I haven’t spoken to him, Captain. Nor have my brothers.”

“Trouble in paradise,” he mocked, taking a glug of his rum.

“It was never paradise,” she said quickly.

“No, I suppose not. You say your brothers have not spoken to him either? Are they protective of you?” he asked curiously and Emma was grateful for the small change in topic.

Emma smiled at the thought of her protective brothers. “You could say that. Leo has been protective of me since the second I was born, a classic older brother,” she informed the captain, who was smiling. She watched his smile falter for just a second, but brushed the thought away. “Thomas and Will were never so protective, really. Not for no reason anyway. They always got along with Prince Neal, so they never felt that there was a reason to be protective, even if he was kissing me or whatever. Leo never liked it. He’s quite passionate really, Leo, about the people he loves. He’s calm and collected most of the time but that’s because he’s going to be king someday and he knows when to react and when not to. Once, Prince Neal was getting a bit handsy with me in the gardens and Leo came over straight away and hit him. The prince had a split lip for a week,” Emma giggled. Hook laughed too and, against her will, Emma felt blood rush to her face.

“It must have been nice to grow up with so many siblings,” Hook commented and Emma nodded enthusiastically.

“My brothers can be a pain in the arse, but I wouldn’t change them for the world,” she told him and he looked impressed by her slight swear word. “Did you have any siblings?” she asked curiously.

It was clearly the wrong thing to say because Hook’s demeanour suddenly changed, his smile morphing into a scowl. “No,” he said harshly. “I think it’s time for you to return to the brig, princess,” he said with a twist of a smile. Blinking away her confusion, Emma nodded, pushing her chair away from the table, wondering what she had said wrong.

XXX


	4. Chapter 4

Emma’s meal with Hook haunted her thoughts over the following days. The captain hadn’t so much as looked at her, never mind spoken to her, since the meal. They’d left port the next day, after they were fully stocked and the men had spent their earnings on booze and whores. Leaving port meant that Emma and her brothers, and Prince Neal, were allowed on deck again, as there was no one to see them and possibly notice who they were.

“What were you doing today?” Thomas asked his sister conversationally when she slumped back into the brig. She gave him a weary smile and, in a few sentences, described the not-so-thrilling events of her day cleaning. “Won’t be long now, Em, until they send the money and then we’ll be out of here,” he promised her, “and there’ll be no more pirates leering at you.” Emma managed half a smile.

“And I can start planning my wedding,” she commented, aware of the sarcasm that laced her tone. She knew that Neal could hear her but she had stopped caring when he had jumped off the Jolly Roger. She didn’t want to marry a man who had tried to run away and not spared a thought for her. Leopold gave her a reproachful look, whether for her disregard for Neal’s feelings or for her dismissive opinion of her wedding Emma didn’t know. She pursed her lips in response.

Emma knew that she had no choice. Leopold knew that she had no choice. Even the townspeople knew that she had no choice. She had to marry Neal to confirm the alliance, but that didn’t mean that she had to be happy about it. For all she cared, he could know that she hated him, that she was going into the marriage knowing that she would be unhappy.

The thought made Emma’s chest twinge. How could she be going into a relationship that would make her so desperately unhappy? And she would never be able to have an affair because she would be queen and queens couldn’t. Kings could, but never queens.

She’d seen the way her parents were together. True love. True happiness. Everything she’d dreamed of since she was a little girl. Emma swallowed her disappointment. She would have children with Neal and they would be her true loves. It was the only thought that got her through all of this marriage business. Her children would be her happiness.

“More importantly, though,” Emma said brightly, “I think Leopold should be planning his wedding.” Will and Thomas snorted and Leopold glanced at her, affronted.

“Emma, I’m not engaged,” he said, emphasizing the ‘I’m’ to let her know that he knew she was changing the subject on purpose. Emma ignored that.

“Well, it’s quite ridiculous. This little kidnapping has shown us that things can change in an instant and, when you become king, you’ll need an heir, and you can’t have an heir without a wife.”

Leopold turned his eyes to the floor. “I’ll find someone one day,” he promised her. Emma glanced at Thomas and found him watching his brother curiously. Before she could say anything, the candle in the lantern that had been lighting the brig ran out and they were in the dark again.

Emma thought about what her brother meant and decided he was probably set on finding a true love, like she had been once. With parents like hers, the inspiration to keep searching until you found the perfect someone was almost too much to avoid.

XXX

It was the next day that Emma spoke to Prince Neal for the first time since the attempted escape. He’d been ordered to work the night shift, so, when Emma returned early from her sewing work, it was to find only him in the brig, just having woken up from his sleep, his eyes heavy in the light that she had brought in with the lantern that the pirates had been allowing her to keep recently.

“Hello,” Emma said quietly as she sat down, leaning against the cold wall. Again, she had spent the day alone, with no interruptions from Hook. Most of her thoughts at the moment stemmed around wondering what she had done to upset the captain so much during their short and pleasant conversation. It had been just after she had asked about siblings. There was something there, she was sure, but she did not want to pry, else she angered him further.

“Hi, Emma,” he replied quietly. She smiled at the ground. “When are you going to start talking to me again?” he asked in the same low tone, as though he were the one who were hurt, and Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

“Are you saying this is my fault?”

He scoffed and Emma could see the disdain in his eyes. “I don’t think there is a ‘this’! I don’t understand. I tried to escape, of course I did, but you would’ve done the same if you’d seen the opportunity! And I was sufficiently punished, don't you think?”

Emma turned away from him. He didn’t understand and she didn’t think he ever would. “Let’s just not, right? I am going to be your wife, but I will never be your friend.”

“You’re plenty friendly to that pirate though aren’t you?” he snarled and Emma whipped back around to him, her eyes wide and her mind racing as to why he would think that. One dinner and a few conversations were hardly friendliness. If anything, it was forced friendliness, because she was here as a victim of kidnapping. Nobody could hold her to anything she had done here because she had been kidnapped. Even as she thought it, a voice in the back of her mind told her that she was not fighting as much as she could have been, as much as her warrior mother would have been.

Ignoring her traitorous thoughts, Emma said, “What are you insinuating?”

He only narrowed his eyes at her and cocked his head, mocking her response. Emma’s hand was moving before she truly knew what she was doing and she slapped him hard across the face. Her hand fell to her side, shaking from the impact, and from the shock of hitting him. She’d been wanting to for days, since Hook had told her what he had tried to do, since she’d realised that they weren’t friends and they weren’t even allies. 

The red on Neal’s cheek was just starting to blossom when she heard a slow applause from outside of the bars that kept them in the brig. Turning to the noise, her eyes widened when she found Hook standing there, leaning against the opposite with that infuriating smirk on his face, his blue eyes alight with amusement. Emma almost wished she did not have the lantern so that she didn’t have to see his smug face. “Good show,” he commented and Emma rolled her eyes, not in the mood for the captain’s comments.

“Can we help you, Captain?” Neal asked through gritted teeth. Emma tried not to let her face show the contempt that she was feeling for her betrothed, although she quickly realised that there was no point, because Hook had just seen her slap him across the face.

Hook pushed himself off the wall and approached the bars, caressing one of them lightly. Emma’s eyes went to his fingers, bouncing off the metal. He had well-groomed fingernails. “I’ve just come for some of the princess’ friendliness you were just referring to,” Hook said, a wicked smirk gracing his lips, and Emma winced. The captain winked at her slowly and some sort of terrible feeling flooded Emma’s body. It was a new feeling, but, at the same time, it was familiar. It was linked to blue eyes and tight red vests, to a hand tight on her waist and a man standing behind her as she stood at the helm of a ship, one hand and one hook on either side of her. Beneath her filthy dress, she pressed her legs together. “Come along, princess,” Hook drawled, lithe fingers opening the door within the bars. With a smirk shot at Neal, he said, “My bed is waiting for you.”

When Emma stepped out of the brig, realising that she could have fought but yet again had acquiesced without complaint, Hook placed his hand on the small of Emma’s back, where her corset met her skirts, the feeling sending goosebumps across her skin. The captain relocked the brig, leaving Neal alone, and he led Emma to his cabin.

They walked in silence, for which Emma was grateful because she wasn’t sure what she would have been able to say, with her body clenching from the fact of his having his hand on her back. She was so nervous, too, and, once again, she tried to analyse where she had gone wrong in their last conversation, to try and figure out how she could do it right this time. 

The room hadn’t changed since the last time she had dined there, nor had the feeling she got as Hook pulled out a chair for her. The sun had not yet set. According to the clock on Hook’s bookshelf - and that did show that he was a successful pirate, because even the palace had few of the expensive time-telling devices - it was just past four o’clock. There was no food set out on the tabel. “What can I help you with, Captain?” Emma asked after Hook had taken his seat too.

The pirate captain, notorious for his bloodthirst and lack of compassion, sighed and looked her straight in the eye, with the words, “I wanted to apologise, princess.” Emma quirked a brow, but said nothing. She thought that she had been the one that needed to apologise, even though she wasn’t sure what she precisely needed to apologise for.

“There’s really no need-”

“There is. I was rude to you and dismissed you without a second thought. You may be a hostage, but you are a guest upon this ship and I should not have treated you otherwise,” Hook said contritely, gentlemanly. Emma wanted to make the comment that she had treated Thomas much worse when he had strapped him to the whipping post, or that he treated them all worse than guests when he forced them to stay in the cold, damp, smelly brig, night after night, fighting through the discomfort for a few precious hours of sleep. She didn’t say either.

“I wanted to apologise, too. I clearly upset you when you so kindly fed me and allowed me to dine in your cabin and that was unconscionable, sir.” Hook’s lips twitched.

“Well, that’s that. I suppose that makes us even. Now, princess, before I so unfairly dismissed you last time you allowed me your company in my cabin, I had been planning on giving something to you,” Hook said, picking up a folded blanket from his bed and placing it on the table in front of Emma. “You mentioned that you were cold and, with all good conscience, I could not allow that to go on.”

Emma’s eyebrows flew up her face. She had not been expecting anything like this when she had complained to Hook. He had bought her a blanket. The brig was freezing and she was glad of the blanket for the warmth it would bring her and her brothers. It was a true kindness, not expected by any of them.

Evidently she had been staring at the blanket for too long as Hook continued, “I hope this will bring you some comfort, princess?”

“Thank you, captain. Thank you so much,” she said, her words coming out quickly and inelegantly. Something like a grin came upon the captain’s face and Emma was sure that it was matched in her own. It was nice to see him with a smile that was not a smirk. It made him look more human.

“Is there anything else I could get for you, princess?”

Feeling less than confident, Emma bit her lip. “I don’t- I don’t suppose I could have a bath, could I?”

XXX

Killian Jones, better known by his moniker Captain Hook, was mesmerised. Sitting on the chair that he favoured in his cabin, he was staring at the panel that hid the bath in his chamber. When he’d become captain, he’d installed the bath, being quite a fan of personal cleanliness, due to his time in the navy. However, for the first time since he’d had it brought to his chambers, he was not the one using it. The princess that he’d kidnapped was.

He did not know what had happened to him. Feelings like this hadn’t plagued him since- well, for a very long time. The second he’d seen her, he’d thought her attractive. Her attitude towards him in the days following had only made her more attractive to him. When Avery had done what he had to her, he had been enraged. In any other circumstances, he probably would have forgiven the man. But he had done what he had to the princess who had stirred these unknown feelings in the captain’s heart. Even then, Hook had known that she was more than just a hostage.

At first, he tried to convince himself that he was so outraged because of his code, because she was a princess, because he wouldn’t get his money, because she was a virgin. His reasoning had gone on and on and, eventually, after more conversations, after more flirting, he’d given into it. He fancied her. Oh, and it wasn’t just that he’d fuck her - although he would without a second thought - she was incredible in other ways too. She was kind and funny, when she let herself be herself - or who he thought she was, anyway - and she was marrying a man that she didn’t love, to save her kingdom. She was something else, truly.

And she haunted his thoughts.

So, he’d invited her to dinner in his chamber. She’d seemed shocked at the sight of his cabin. Obviously, it was nothing in comparison to her palace, but she’d seemed to actively admire it. And then she’d sat down at his table and practically devoured her food. Killian had never seen anything like it. He’d laughed at her and admired her and stared at her when she wasn’t looking. They’d chatted and Killian had brought up her betrothed. She’d seemed uncomfortable and he was glad because he was jealous without cause at the thought of her being with somebody - anybody.

If only he hadn’t fucked up. As soon as she mentioned siblings, he’d wanted her out of his room. He’d wanted to scream and shout. Liam was one subject that he would not discuss, not even with her.

But then over the next few days, he’d felt guilty for sending her away, for being so rude to such a perfect creature. So, he’d gone and collected her from the brig himself, rather than send one of his men. She’d sat at his table and he’d apologised - apologised, actually apologised - and then she had apologised too, when he was the one who had been out of order. This woman, this princess, deserved so much more than a loveless marriage with some ponce of a prince.

She deserved to be loved, to be adored, to be the complete and utter desire of her partner. It made Killian uncomfortable to think of what their sex life would be like, of the waste that it was to make the princess - the beautiful, feisty princess - live a life without good sex.

He shook himself. Thinking of the princess and sex at the same time generally led to unsavoury consequences. Especially given his current situation.

When he’d asked her if there was anything else she wanted to make herself more comfortable, he’d thought she’d ask for a pillow or a new dress. Instead, she’d asked him if she could bathe. Immediately, Killian’s eyes had widened but he’d agreed. It wasn’t as though it were an unreasonable request. He assumed that they bathed with huge frequency at the castle.

So, here he was, staring at the screen that he had put in front of the bath, listening to her bathe herself. Every so often, he would hear a slight moan and would struggle to concentrate on the map he was attempting to study. To think of her naked, just feet away from him, was incredibly difficult, but Killian prided himself on being a gentleman as well as a pirate.

And being around Emma encouraged both sides of him. Her being a princess made his gentlemanly traits become more prominent, because he wanted to impress her, wanted to make her feel comfortable and not so scared. However, just looking at her made him want to screw that, and screw her.

Hook chuckled at his word play and then sighed, bringing his thoughts back to the map and plotting their course towards the kingdom of Arendelle, where the monarchs of Misthaven would be waiting.

XXX

“Emma, where in the hell have you been?” Thomas demanded as soon as she had been escorted back to the brig. Emma bit her lip. She knew exactly what they’d say when she told them where she’d been and what exactly she had been doing. But she couldn’t lie. Her hair was still dripping down her back and she smelled fresher than she had since before they had left Misthaven.

“I- The captain asked me to visit him again,” she admitted and her three brothers looked at her incredulously. “Look, it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Thomas’ eyes narrowed. “Emma, you do remember that he kidnapped us. This isn’t some experience we’ve decided to undertake. We are here against our will!”

Emma looked down at the floor. She knew that he had kidnapped them and, every time she thought about him, she tried to remind herself of it. The only reason they were on the ship was because he had kidnapped them and was going to ransom them. Her parents were probably going out of their minds with worry. “I know that,” she whispered, ashamed of her cavalier attitude.

“Then why are you spending so much time with him?” William asked quietly from his position on the floor. In the dark, Emma couldn’t make out his facial expression, but this was the first time William himself had mentioned Hook’s attentions.

Emma sighed. “I don’t know. He speaks to me and I don’t entirely mind it. I know that he’s the reason we’re not going to be at Elsa’s wedding, which I hate more than anyone, but I- he’s different sometimes. He- look! He gave me a blanket!” She lifted the blanket up to them, trying to make them see it through the last flickering light of the candle in the lantern. The blanket was soft, too, and red, which meant that it had probably not come cheap for the captain.

Rather than grateful, Thomas was furious. “He bought you a blanket? Merlin, Emma, don’t you see what he’s trying to do? He’s making you indebted to him! After he’s bought you all of this lovely stuff, he’s going to get you into his bed.”

“Do you think me so foolish?” Emma asked, her voice low and hurt, though, inside, she was doubting herself. She had thought that she had uncovered another side of the captain, a kinder, more thoughtful side, but maybe all of this was just to get her into his bed. Maybe her brothers were right.

“No, Emma, we think you’ve never had any proper experience. He doesn’t count,” Leopold cut in, not even willing to say her betrothed’s name. They heard Neal scoff and ignored him.

“But, he, he- I don’t know! He’s been kind to me. He let me bathe-”

“He what?” her three brothers, and Neal, exclaimed at once. Emma shrank back against the wall and slid down onto the floor.

Emma blinked back tears from her eyes. “I asked if I could bathe and he allowed me to,” she said tremulously. “I just- I-”

“Emma,” Leopold sighed, ever the wise eldest brother, “you’re the only princess of Misthaven. Do you not think a pirate like him would be overjoyed to lay with you, to even be close with you? You would be a glorious conquest. He’s heartless. There can be no other reason.” 

Emma scowled. She didn’t agree. His reaction when she had mentioned siblings had led her to think that he had once had a sibling. Maybe he had lost his heart when he had lost his sibling. Whatever had happened, Emma didn’t think that someone was ever heartless. And, if they were, there was always a way to bring it back.

“Right, okay, I’m sorry,” Emma gave in. She really did not have the energy for the debate. They hadn’t spent as much time with the captain as she had, so they didn’t have all the information. Inside, Emma squirmed. He was a horrible man, truly, so why was she so defensive of him? She had to stop these feelings before they took root.

XXX

The next morning, Emma woke up, the blanket the captain had gifted her lying across as much of her and her brothers as it could. She had dreamed of him watching her as she bathed and saying things to her that she could never have imagined. The ache between her legs did not immediately leave as she replayed the dream in her mind. The feeling was becoming more and more familiar.

When the brig door opened only seconds later, Emma realised that it was the first time she’d woken before the pirates had come to collect them at the crack of dawn. Clearly, she was adjusting. Three pirates escorted the four pirates above deck, while a fourth guided Emma towards the captain’s cabin. “I’m going in there?” Emma asked suddenly. The pirate, Pratt, leered at her.

“Nothing you’re not used to, you little slut,” he hissed in her ear. Emma jumped away from him and he chuckled darkly. The cabin was empty as Emma and Pratt entered. “The captain wants you to scrub the floors,” he ordered, before taking a seat in the chair that Emma knew, from the two times she’d been in there before, the captain favoured.

Feeling self-conscious, Emma got to work with the scrubbing brush and bucket of water that Pratt had brought with them into the room. Down on her knees, Emma could feel the fat pirate was watching her every move. She tried to put it out of her mind and wait until he got bored. Emma wasn’t usually constantly guarded and she wondered what had changed.

“I bet you’re used to being on your knees in here, aren’t you?” she heard Pratt comment from behind her and Emma tried to ignore him, but he continued. “Bet under that dress your knees are red raw from all the time you spend on your knees sucking the captain’s cock. Every second you’re scrubbing that floor, you’re thinking of him aren’t you, you little whore?”

Setting her teeth together, Emma moved onto the next patch of floor. She would not let this petty little man get to her.

“I can almost imagine what he’s done to you in here,” Pratt continued, almost reverently. “Treated you like you royal fuckers deserve, like you’ve never been treated before. I bet he took your virgin pussy so hard the first time that you screamed.”

In anger, Emma slammed hard against the bookshelf in front of her with the brush and was surprised when a few books tumbled to the floor, one of them hitting her shoulder. Emma closed her eyes, annoyed that she had let his words get to her. “Look what you’ve done now, you stupid bitch,” Pratt crowed as Emma started to pick up the books. 

One of the books, a thick blue one, had fallen open and there was an inscription. Emma slowly picked it up, reading it as she did: “To Killian, younger brother, may the sea comfort you when I cannot”. The message was not signed, so Emma did not know whether it was written by a brother or a sister. Most girls could not write, and this writer had excellent penmanship, so it was likely a brother, but she couldn’t be certain. Killian could be such a gentleman that it was possible that he was from a rich family, where girls were taught to write.

Placing the books back onto the shelves, Emma returned to her job, wondering what had happened to Hook’s - Killian’s - sibling. 

XXX


	5. Chapter 5

Sewing had always been something Emma enjoyed. She and her mother would sit down and sew together, with their ladies, of an evening and just chat. Those were some of her favourite times with her mother. It was when she got to know her best. Sitting and sewing on the ship was not the same, but it did make her feel closer to her mother, even when she was miles and miles away.

Emma also found that, when she was sewing, she could think as much as she’d like. It was an easy activity that required very little concentration on Emma’s part. Unfortunately, this meant that, on the days where Hook gave Emma a basket of sewing to complete, she thought more about the pirate captain than the activity she was doing. When she was washing clothes, or cleaning, or helping in the kitchen, she rarely thought about anything other than what she was doing in that moment.

But, sitting with a needle in her hand, Emma’s thoughts wandered above deck, where the pirates, and her brothers, worked. The pirate captain hadn’t spoken to her much over the past day or two, but Emma knew he would again at some point. Her brothers were still adamant that he had gifted Emma the beautiful blanket so that she would become his whore, but, as Emma had no plans of becoming the captain’s whore, her brothers were worrying unnecessarily.

Completing a row of stitches, Emma considered once again what she had discovered in the captain’s book. The inscription from his brother or sister. Emma had already decided that the captain must be an orphan, because the sibling had spoken of looking after their brother and who needed to do that if they had parents? No, Emma rather thought that, once upon a time, it had just been Hook - Killian - and his sibling. And then he must have lost his sibling somehow. Otherwise, he would not have been so antsy when Emma had brought up siblings.

Emma couldn’t imagine it. Losing your parents and only having a sibling left and then losing that person too. It was easy to see how Hook had fallen into piracy, especially if he and his sibling had shared a love of the sea, as the inscription had suggested.

Shaking her head, Emma returned to her work, threading the needle in and out of the fabric, unable to control the small smile that played about her mouth as she remembered the pirate captain threatening to ‘prick’ her when they were discussing needles in one of their first conversations together. It was an empty threat, Emma knew that, having spent enough time with the captain to know him a bit better than her brothers. The memory amused her slightly now.

“What lovely thoughts have brought about such a wonderful occurrence?” Emma heard to her side. She turned her head and, without realising it, her smile spread across her face. The captain had come to see her again. Briefly, Emma wondered why on earth such a man wanted to spend time with her, but she banished the thought immediately and turned her thoughts back to the current situation.

“What wonderful occurrence is that, captain?” Emma queried and the captain, looking very splendid indeed in his blue vest, smirked. The blue in his vest brought out the blue in his eyes.

“Why a smile, of course, princess!” he said with what Emma thought was fake exuberance. She laughed even so, enjoying the way his eyes brightened up.

“Was there anything you needed, captain?” she asked, eager to keep the conversation flowing. Apart from anything else, she was quite bored all on her own all day.

Hook - Killian, she remembered his name with secret delight - offered her his hand and pulled her up. Emma stared at her hand in his, avoiding the temptation to run her fingers across the back of his hand, to find out what it felt like, lest he think she were coming on to him. His hands were rough, probably from climbing the rigging and handling a sword and all manner of pirate tasks, and they were big, bigger than Emma’s, with those thick lithe fingers that haunted Emma’s dreams and made her wake up sweating and ashamed.

“I wondered if you would like to join me above deck, princess. The sun is shining and I thought it a waste to keep such a beautiful creature as you hidden away down here,” he offered her, a smile playing about his lips. Emma’s face lit up at the prospect and she agreed readily, thanking the captain with enthusiasm.

“Would you like me to bring my sewing, captain?” Emma checked, picking up the wicker basket filled with garments and placing it on her hip. To Emma’s surprise, the captain shook his head no.

The pirate offered Emma his arm and Emma was all too happy to take it. Hook led her above deck, where she had not been since Neal’s whipping. The fresh air was very welcome to her lungs and the sound of the ocean made her want to rush to the helm of the boat, where she had lived through Neal’s whipping, and watch the boat sail through white-foaming waves, while mermaids and all manner of sea creatures lurked below. It was a very different scene to Neal’s whipping that greeted her. At the time the pirates had been stood around, but now they were hard at work and looked up only momentarily at Emma’s arrival. Two men were at the top of the mainsail and others were working with rope. Emma saw that her three brothers and Prince Neal were swabbing the floor, clearly the most demeaning job.

“Captain on deck!” the first mate, Smee, shouted and all men, including Emma’s brothers and betrothed, stood to attention at once. Briefly, Emma wondered how long it had taken for the princes to learn to do that immediately. However, before she could ponder how demeaning Leopold, the future heir of Misthaven, found obeying a pirate captain, she found that all three of her brothers were watching her with accusatory eyes. Emma ducked her head and tucked a piece of recently washed hair behind her ear, hoping that her brothers would move on in where they were looking. She didn’t want anything to anger the captain while she were with him.

“At ease, men,” the captain ordered and the pirates immediately went back to their work. Emma was led by Hook to where they had stood before, at the helm of the ship, though not quite at the end, where Emma wanted to see the ship carving through the ocean. Instead, Hook dismissed the man who was controlling the wheel and took his arm from hers. Emma watched in awe as Hook concentrated on the ocean, pulling out a compass and adjusting the wheel.

After a few moments spent in comfortable silence, Hook shouted, “Pratt!” Emma flinched as the disgusting man who had watched her clean Hook’s cabin came within metres of her, leering at her indecently. Emma inched closer to the captain who gave her an confused look, but continued with his order to Pratt. “Fetch the princess a chair from the galley.” The pirate scuttled off to do so straight away. The power Hook had over his men was incredible. It was similar to the power Emma’s parents commanded over their kingdom. Emma supposed that the Jolly Roger was like Hook’s own little kingdom.

“Isn’t this nice, princess?” Hook said, interrupting her thoughts as he gestured aimlessly to the environment surrounding them: the blue, cloudless sky above and gentle sea waves beneath them. Emma smiled and then furrowed her brow.

“Emma,” she said softly. Hook turned to her, giving her a bemused look. Emma swallowed. “You- you can call me Emma.” Wishing she’d kept her mouth shut, Emma stared at the wooden planks that made up the ship’s floor. She wanted to turn and walk away, to the edge of the ship so that she could stare down into the sea, but she also didn’t want to leave Hook’s side, while she had the chance to be with him and enjoy the feeling of being around him, a feeling she had no name for at the moment, a feeling that she didn’t want to name for fear of what it would be.

“Okay, Emma,” he said in his beautiful accent. Emma didn’t know where people even spoke like that. She was sure it wasn’t in her kingdom, but perhaps it wasn’t too far. Or maybe he had grown up on a ship, away from any true accent and he had just developped his own, from the mixture around him. Emma liked the idea of only he being able to speak as he did. Too late, Emma realised that, while she had been pondering his voice, she hadn’t moved her eyes from his beautiful blue ones.

Clearing her throat, Emma moved out of his personal space. She was far too close to a pirate for a princess to be. She saw the captain’s smile falter and wished she’d stayed exactly where she was. Clearing her throat, she nodded to the huge steering wheel and said, “How do you steer the boat?” Hook grinned enthusiastically, that look again that was so different to his fixed smirk, that made him look like a man, like any man.

He stepped back from the wheel. “Come here, Emma,” he said, gesturing to the space in front of him, where he had been stood, where she would stand right in front of the wheel. Emma’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Come on, I’ll help you,” he promised her inticingly. Emma struggled to hide her smile and eventually did step in front of the wheel, placing her hands shakingly on the wooden circle that steered the whole huge ship.

“Okay.” His breath tickled the back of her ear. An arm on either side of her, he rested his hand and hook on either side of her hands. “Calm down.” Emma noticed her own hands shaking. She nodded. “The left side of the ship is called port and the right side is called starboard, okay?” and Emma nodded, trying to tilt her head so that she could see him from his position behind her.

“Right, port and starboard,” she repeated, trying to memorise the words, wishing it hadn’t only been her brothers who were required to work with the navy while they grew up. Hook chuckled and leaned over her, striking the large wooden block that the wheel was attached to with his hook. Emma gasped in horror but he only chuckled, the sound directly in her ear and shooting straight through her. He carved the letters P and S on the correct sides of the ship. Emma smiled, ducking her head. She would not forget now, and neither would he. He wouldn’t forget her.

“That should help you remember,” Hook said, replacing his hook on the wheel and interrupting Emma’s sudden thoughts of when she left the ship. “So, turn the wheel towards starboard.” Emma gave the captain what she was sure was a terrified look and he laughed loudly, a real laugh not just a chuckle. He covered her hand with his own and guided her to turn the wheel. It was heavier than she expected but knowing she was controlling the entire ship did make her feel a little bit giddy.

“Do you feel powerful?” he asked, a whisper in her ear. She was far too close to him to really generate any coherent thoughts so she just nodded and enjoyed the captain’s low chuckle. “I believe I could leave my ship in your hands now, princess,” Hook teased her.

Emma giggled. “Careful you don’t give me any ideas, captain, or I’ll start a mutiny,” she teased straight back and Hook let out a laugh as though he actually found her amusing. The thought probably pleased Emma too much. She wondered if Neal ever found her funny. She wondered if anyone had ever found her funny before.

“My men would probably follow such a beautiful creature, too,” Hook continued and Emma flushed. She could feel his eyes on the back of her head Closing her eyes, Emma decided she would give herself another minute of this before she drew away from him. It was far too intimate and her brothers were probably literally mutinous watching it. It was a good thing that Neal was below deck. This was just the sort of thing that would end their betrothal.

As Emma considered that, however, she heard a catcall from behind them and Hook pulled away immediately, the loss of his hands on hers, his heat behind her, suddenly making her cold. Emma turned to him and saw a smirk playing about his lips. With a downwards turn of her lips, she wondered if this was all some game. Maybe her brothers were right. Maybe he just wanted to sleep with her.

Before she could form a sentence or even a thought to be able to ask him politely, Hook steped further away and said, “Enjoy the sunshine, princess.” Back to princess, no more Emma. He left her proximity to deal with his men and ensure they were on task despite the lovely weather. Pratt finally arrived with the chair and gave Emma a leer. Her eyes darted to Hook, who was enjoying some ribaldry with his men. Emma supposed that it was about her. She suddenly felt dirty.

“Invited you to his cabin again, has he, princess?” the disgusting man hissed at her. Emma stared over the top of his bald head, not rising to the bait. “Bet he’d love to take you up against that wheel, wouldn’t he? Is that what he was whispering in your ear?”

“No, be quiet,” Emma responded weakly. Is that what her brothers were going to think? Prince Neal would surely think the worst too, being that the captain had already told him that Emma was in his bed, just to wind him up.

“Be quiet,” Pratt mocked in a high-pitched voice, followed by a harsh laugh. Emma blinked away tears, hoping that the horrid man could not see them. “I can’t wait for when the captain is bored of fucking you and passes you round the crew. Can’t you imagine it, you little slut? All the crew fucking you one after the other, over and over again. Does that make your dirty little pussy wet?”

Emma recoiled in disgust and turned away from him, only to see that the captain was watching their conversation with interest. Flushed, Emma took the seat that Pratt had brought and sat down as the horrible man walked away, determined to enjoy the sunshine.

XXX

Killian’s crew was a diverse set of men. Some of them, like Barclay, Broderick and Forbes, had been with him the day that Liam had died and had stuck with him through his tumultuous beginnings in piracy. Others, like Smee, Theodore, Edward and Borden, were men he’d picked up along the way and had decided that he wanted to keep. The rest were temporary and Killian decided how long they stayed with him for. If they were trustworthy, as he had determined Albatross to be, he might decide to keep them on. If they weren’t, then he’d get rid of them at the next port.

Pratt was a character that Killian couldn’t quite get his head around. He was a decent worker; he didn’t slack. That was something Killian wanted in his crew, of course, but he was just a bit of a creep. He laughed at random moments and enjoyed the bloodthirst of battle far too much for Killian’s liking. So, Killian had determined to keep an eye on him.

And, now, doing just that, Killian decided that the man showed far too much interest in the princess. She was his property on the ship and Killian did not appreciate the looks Pratt was giving her at the helm. He was talking to her and the princess did not seem to be enjoying it. Although her discomfort made Killian feel uncomfortable himself, he couldn’t punish his crew for simply making bawdy comments. They did the same to the princes and Killian found it mildly amusing. There was no real reason that he wouldn’t feel the same about Emma.

Pratt walked away from her, finally, and Emma looked over to him. He met her eye and realised that he’d been caught watching. Shrugging it off, Killian reminded himself that it was his ship and she was his property. There was nothing for him to feel ashamed of. Who wouldn’t stare at a beautiful woman? And that was all he was doing. He wasn’t jealous of Pratt talking to her, of being in any sort of proximity to her, and he wasn’t protective of her. He was just suspicious of Pratt, nothing more.

Emma was such an enigma. Sometimes she would be so off with him and give him short, simplistic answers with none of that attitude that he adored so much, that made him want to fuck it out of her. Sometimes, and these were the times he enjoyed, she would be cheeky. She would tease him or flirt with him or give him a look that made him wonder what on earth was going on in that brain.

“Captain,” Smee interrupted his musings.

“Yes, Smee,” Killian replied a bit absently, his eyes wandering back over to where the princess had sat down and was staring out at the sea. A smile played about his lips as he wondered where her brain was wandering as she too enjoyed the sunshine.

“Captain?” Smee said again and Killian shook himself, turning his full attention to his first mate and away from the princess at the helm of his ship. Who he felt nothing for. The only feelings he had for her were excitement at getting the money and a general attraction, because she was beautiful. But that was all. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking when he’d bought her the blanket or requested her company. She was a princess and he wouldn’t get his money if he’d sullied her.

“Captain?” Smee repeated more loudly and Killian swore. That wretched woman distracting him from his true love, his ship.

“Yes, sorry, Smee, go on.”

XXX

Emma had made a decision. She’d never really had much cause to do so over the course of her life because she was a princess and, thus, most decisions were made for her. But she had made one now. And it was important. It was what a princess would do in her situation. Except that she was a princess and it, therefore, was a princess’ situation. So she had made a princess’ decision in a princess’ situation.

She was going to stop all of these nonsense feelings for the captain. He was attractive, of course, but he was a criminal and a pirate and a murderer. She would be kind to him, but that was it. No more intimate conversations. No more flirting. No more of any of it. When she got out of this situation, she wanted to be proud of the way she’d acted. Fancying a pirate captain was something she could never be proud of.

And the shame of it. If it went any further with the pirate, how could she ever face her parents? How could she look them in the eye if she had kissed a pirate during her kidnapping? How could she talk to her brothers if they had been right that all he wanted was some attention from the princess?

Yes. That was what she would do. The pirate captain wasn’t so interested that he would continue to talk to her if she wasn’t talking to him. And there was no part of Emma that wanted him to be. No part at all.

Because all of Emma knew that she was engaged and she had to think of her kingdom first. That was a princess’ job. To think of the kingdom. And what the kingdom needed was an alliance with Soseia and that, unfortunately, meant marrying Neal. And that would be fine. It would be fine.

He might not set her insides on fire just by whispering in her ear. He might not be so attractive that it was difficult to look at him for an extended period of time. He might not make her laugh. He might not make her want to flirt. He might not be what she wanted, but he was what she had. And she did not have a choice.

What she’d do if she did have a choice was a thought that Emma was not allowed to have. Because she was a princess. And, if she wasn’t a princess, she could do what she wanted, but she was and, really, if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t even be in this situation. A pirate wouldn’t kidnap a simple farm girl, and then she’d have never met him. 

Not that that was a problem.

Emma let out a huff and crossed her arms, aware she probably looked like a two years old having a tantrum. Sighing, she turned her attention to the disgusting state of her nails. Some days, she wished Regina had cast her curse.

XXX


	6. Chapter 6

Leopold was the Prince of Eslaston, the second biggest city of Misthaven and the title given to the heir to the throne, and he was in a bit of sticky situation. While on their way to Queen Elsa’s wedding, he, his brothers William and Thomas, his sister Emma, Princess Major of Misthaven, and his sister’s betrothed, Prince Neal of Soseia, had been kidnapped by pirates. Captain Hook had taken them on board his ship and stuffed them in the brig.

If he was honest, Leopold had been relieved when the pirate had made them work on the ship. He had always been terrible at doing nothing, so it, at least, gave them something to do and Leopold didn’t mind shipwork. He’d rather enjoyed his time in the navy. Granted, on the pirate ship, he did more scrubbing of the deck than he had when he was part of the navy, but it was all fine. He could cope with it. Even the imprisonment he could cope with. He knew his parents were going to send the money eventually and, until then, the conditions weren’t all that terrible. 

There was one thing, however, that was driving Leopold insane. His sister was his closest friend. Of course, he was close to his brothers too, but the age difference was larger. Only separated by a year, Emma and Leopold had relied on each other long before their three- and four-year younger siblings were born.

So, although Emma called him overprotective, Leopold had always felt as though he had a duty to his only sister, to protect her. She was precious. This was only intensified when, at ten years old, their parents had sat the two of them down and explained why Emma was more special than any of them. She had been destined to be the saviour. The evil Regina had threatened to send a curse and then there was a prophecy that told them that Emma would save everyone’s happiness on her 28th birthday.

But it had never happened. The curse didn’t come, but the threat remained. Apparently, the person who delivered the prophecy had warned them that destiny never changed and that Emma was still the saviour. Despite Emma’s laissez-faire attitude towards it, Leopold truly believed that one day Emma would have to save the kingdom. Emma thought that if it was over it was over. She, and Leopold found this hard to swallow, didn’t believe in destiny. With parents who had “true love”, with a prophecy having been made about her before she was even born, Emma didn’t believe in destiny.

Okay, so Leopold was protective of his sister. Before the whole kidnapping thing, there hadn’t really been anything to protect Emma from. Once, he’d punched Prince Neal for getting a bit handsy when he and Emma were fifteen, but, other than that, he’d been able to just be Emma’s best friend instead of her protector. Now, however, things were different.

The threat to Emma was a man, a pirate, older than Leopold by quite a few years. Stuck upon his ship, it was very difficult to stop the pirate from doing anything but Leopold was determined to try. His sister would not be sullied by some pirate. She was a princess and a virgin and those facts would remain until she was married.

Leopold was usually quite good at reading people. It was a skill he and Emma shared. However, in this instance, he really couldn’t read the pirate. Was he going to rape Emma? Surely, he knew that Queen Snow and King David would pay the same ransom whether he had raped Emma or not. And, if Leopold was honest, other than the obvious effect on her mental welfare, the effects on Emma would not be sizable either. She would still have a family who adored her and, after what Neal had tried to do in escaping the Jolly Roger, there was no way he wouldn’t marry Emma. The alliance would be sound and so would Emma’s reputation.

But it could not happen. The thought of that dirty pirate beneath Emma’s skirts made Leopold want to vomit. It made him want to rip the pirate’s heart out of his chest and then make him swallow it. Leopold had to protect his sister’s honour because he was a bit unsure about how much she wanted to do it for herself.

Usually, Leopold would say that his sister would never even consider sleeping with a pirate, would never consider sleeping with anybody who was not her husband, but now, he wasn’t so sure. When they discussed his attentions, she defended him. She, the princess of Misthaven, defended a pirate. And not just any pirate. The infamous Captain Hook, scourge of the seas. To be in a mile of him was to know fear, supposedly, according to the tales. He was an intimidating figure. Leopold was not going to pretend to be brave and say that he thought the stories were false. Captain Hook was a scary man, who needed to be brought to justice.

And, yet, his sister had been closer to him than Leopold had been, apparently without fear. He’d watched her stand in between him and the wheel while he whispered in her ear. When she’d angled her face towards the pirate’s, she had seemed enamoured, the way a princess ought to feel about a prince. It was a look that Leopold had never seen on her face towards Prince Neal, despite her professed feelings for Neal that had allowed them to accept Emma’s suggestion of an alliance based on marriage, back when things seemed to be going so wrong for Misthaven.

Concentrating more on the area of the deck he was scrubbing, Leopold sighed. Emma was betrothed to Prince Neal but how Leopold wished she wasn’t. He wanted his sister to be happy but how could she be when she was going to be married to a coward? Emma had told him that she loved Neal but Leopold hadn’t seen anything like love, not recently at least. Against his will, Leopold considered that Emma seemed to care more for the pirate captain than for her betrothed.

Angrily slamming the scrubbing brush on the deck, Leopold determined to warn his sister off the captain. He had to make her realise that she couldn’t be with the captain. She had a responsibility to her country and that meant she had to marry Prince Neal, whether she liked it or not.

XXX

Emma woke the next morning, pleased with her decision. She was not going to go anywhere near Hook. She would be polite, courteous, princessesque, but she would not go any further than that. She would not stand close to him, nor let him stand close to her. Her kingdom was what was important and she could hardly ruin its reputation because of some mindless flirting with a pirate captain.

No, she had made the right decision. She was almost excited for him to see that she wasn’t interested. She wondered how off he was refused by women. Smiling to herself, Emma reaffirmed her decision.

And, anyway, they’d be free in a few weeks and she could forget all about the pirate with the tousled dark hair and piercing blue eyes and voice that was made of silk and melted metal, thick and pouring with heat, yet smooth and soft against her skin.

“Morning, Emma,” she heard Leopold mutter from his place under the blanket next to her. “Sleep well?” he asked and Emma affirmed that she did, feeling no need to mention that her mind hadn’t quite caught up with her decision yet, so she’d been plagued with dreams of Hook all night.

“You?” she checked.

“Yeah, alright. What do you reckon you’ll be doing today?” her older brother asked her. They had a similar conversation most mornings. Emma shrugged.

“I’ve not done any washing in a few days. Probably that,” she said with a smile to herself. She hoped she was right. Washing was hard work and there would be no time to think of anything except what she was doing.

Twenty minutes later, she was proven right. Her brothers were taken upstairs as Prince Neal was returned to the brig after his night shift. Leopold had privately shared that he was glad the prince was on different shifts to his brothers, as he didn’t know how well he’d be able to work with him. While her brothers scrubbed the deck or whatever they were doing that day, Emma looked at the pile of washing that greeted her with a small smile.

XXX

Thomas, Duke of Maeria, was in a bit of a mental pickle. He’d been on a pirate ship for over three weeks, so he was in a bit of a physical pickle too, but he trusted his parents. The pirate thing would be sorted soon. Thomas’ real problem revolved around his sister, Emma.

It was quite odd being a younger sibling because life had never existed without your older siblings. One of Thomas’ first memories was of playing with Leopold and Emma. Those two had always been close, while Thomas was closer to Will, his younger brother. Thomas didn’t know if it was because he was younger or if it was because he just wasn’t as close to Emma, but he was never very protective of her. He’d got on with Neal and Emma had told them all she loved him so he took her at her word. Why would he get protective over his sister when she was with someone she loved and someone who seemed like a decent guy at that? Of course, Leopold was protective but all older siblings were.

“Oi, Tommy, lad,” he heard Barclay, the master gunner, shout as he realised that Thomas wasn’t fully concentrating on the cleaning of the cannons as he wanted. Thomas shouted back an apology and continued on with his work more carefully.

The pirate ship kidnapping thing had really helped Thomas to learn more about his siblings and Prince Neal. The prince that was supposed to marry his sister, for instance, wasn’t a decent guy. He was a prick and a coward. Emma had risen to the challenge of being kidnapped, whereas Neal had tried to run away and not even told them he was going to do it. Having put all of their lives in danger in a reckless quest to escape, none of them were talking to him.

When they were returned to their parents, Thomas had plans to tell them that Emma was not marrying that idiot. Not only did he think that his sister deserved far more than him, he also didn’t think he wanted his kingdom to be aligned with theirs. Misthaven was a proud nation and, if Soseia was a nation run by cowards, he did not want an alliance.

Now, that being said, Thomas wasn’t entirely pleased about the captain of the ship’s attentions to Emma. Thomas had been a part of the navy for three years now and he had every plan to continue it. He knew sailors and he knew what they wanted from women. Thomas himself was one of them. There was no way in hell his sister was getting close enough to the captain for him to do anything like that.

According to his sister, the captain was kind to her, but Thomas knew his game. Kindness until she was all over him and then he’d take her to bed. Thomas was not going to allow that to happen. He had to protect his sister, who was perhaps more naive than he thought.

Her future was uncertain, but two things were certain to Thomas: she was not going to be a pirate’s whore, but nor was she going to be a coward’s bride.

“Tommy, for fuck’s sake, stop dilly-dallying and get that cannon shining or I’ll see you on the flogging post again!” Barclay shouted at him and Thomas got back to work immediately. The flogging post was not somewhere he wanted to be again.

XXX

He was just going to see if she was working. That made sense. He was the captain and he’d given her a job and now he was going to see if she was doing it. That was his job, after all.

He was just going to see that she was still there. Her betrothed had tried to escape and he didn’t want her doing the same. He had to think of the bounty he’d receive. If she was gone, he’d get nothing.

He was just going to ensure that she was doing the work right. He could hardly have the princess washing the clothes wrong now could he? Smee was quite particular about the way his clothes were washed and he didn’t want his first mate kicking off, now did he?

Having reached the clothes room, Killian sighed and leaned against the wall. He could make all the excuses in the world but, in his heart of hearts, he would know why he was going. All he wanted to do was see her. He wanted to make her smile, to make her laugh. It was quite odd actually. Usually all he wanted from a woman was to have her beneath him, or on top of him, sometimes, and then send her away.

Chuckling to himself, Killian considered the woman in the room next to him. He could imagine her sitting there with the washing basket, scrubbing the clothes on the board. She’d be thinking lovely thoughts and a smile would sit upon her lips gracefully. 

Of course, he could only imagine this because he’d seen it so many times before. How many times had he made those excuses to go and see her? From the moment he’d seen her, the second he’d seen her on that boat, he’d been enchanted.

Killian contemplated this. Maybe she was a witch. It would explain why he was so obsessed with her, why he constantly thought about her. Maybe she was using magic on him to make him obsessed and then, eventually, set them free.

Even as he thought it, Killian knew the thought was idiotic, but they convinced him to leave all the same. And leaving was what he needed to do. He couldn’t chase after this girl like some sort of puppy. He was captain of the Jolly Roger and she was just a girl who would be a nice fuck. There were plenty of girls who would fuck him.

Next time they made port, he would find one who would put this blasted princess out of his mind for good.

XXX

William, Duke of Shiles, was fifteen years old and the youngest heir of Misthaven. He was fifth in line to the throne and quite happy to be able to say that it was unlikely that he would ever sit on it. Leopold was made to be a king and Will was content as a duke. In a few years, he’d marry someone and have his own family and they’d be royal but without any real responsibility. It was the perfect solution. Royal but simple. It was all Will had ever wanted.

All he had to do now was get off this pirate ship.

When he was thirteen years old, Will had done his year in the navy like all princes did but had hated it. Sailing had never been his thing and working on a boat for a whole year had been nothing short of torture. His brothers had bigged it up. Leopold had stayed in the navy for three more years and Thomas seemed set to stay in the navy forever, but William hated it. He’d hardly been away from the navy for a year and, here he was again, on a ship, working in a very similar way to last time.

The situation was far from perfect. Not only a kidnapping but a kidnapping on a boat. At first, he’d tried to be brave, but he had quickly come to realise that they were stuck there for quite a while. He supposed that he had eventually found his sea legs, but he still wasn’t completely comfortable walking on the boat. The seasickness had faded, but it did occasionally make a special visit when the seas were especially rough.

Even though he had become somewhat used to being on the boat, just as he had two years ago on the navy ship, Will was still extremely uncomfortable. He was ready for his parents to send the ransom money for him, as he knew they would as soon as they knew where to send it. He was relying on the captain of Bela Fortuna to relay the message.

Putting aside the whole boat thing for a second, Will found that the captain of this ship really grated on him. Apart from the fact that he was a pirate, he was arrogant and Will, quite a shy lad himself really, found arrogance abhorrent in a man. It irritated him to no end. Confidence, like his brothers had, was one thing, but arrogance quite another. And the most galling part of it? The pirate was so arrogant to think that he could try it on with Will’s sister, Princess Major of Misthaven. In what world could he possibly think that was okay? A pirate and a princess. That was a new level of arrogance.

Will was a firm believer in the law system and piracy was so far apart from it that it made him uncomfortable to even be on the pirate ship. More than that, Captain Hook was renowned for brutal murder and attacks. His name was feared for a reason. While he seemed to be a fair captain, the very fact of their kidnapping proved that that was false.

Angrily continuing to scrub the floor, Will noticed the first few drops of rain and his stomach lurched. A storm. From his year in the navy, Will knew that his fear of storms was not irrational. He felt the panic rising in his heart and his breathing became laboured. He couldn’t cope with this. He couldn’t cope with this.

A strangled cry emerged from his mouth and he dropped the brush he was using. The clattering sound alerted the pirates to him. His brothers rushed over. It had been so long since this had happened. Why was he so weak? Why wouldn’t it just stop? He just wanted it to stop.

XXX

Fuck it. He’d never been a strong man. Even before piracy, before the navy, he’d been an alcoholic and a gambler. He could never say no to himself. Taking a swig of rum from his flask, Killian approached the room where the princess sat. She was humming something to herself. Did that mean she was happy? He hoped so. Despite the kidnapping, Killian never wanted to do anything to upset her.

“Princess,” he greeted and she seemed startled, dropping the garment in her hands and turning to him. A smile came onto her face and she forced it back down. Killian faltered. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who was seeking to put distance between them. But she had smiled automatically when she’d seen him. That had to count for something.

“Captain,” she replied sweetly. He smiled at her, meeting her beautiful green eyes. They were unlike anything he’d seen before. She was unlike anything he’d seen before. “Can I help you, Captain?”

The captain faltered, a grunt coming from his mouth. Killian cursed himself in his head. He was captain of the fastest ship in the realm and here he was stuttering over some woman. “I just wished to ensure that the princess was not lonely,” he told her with what he hoped was a winning smile. The princess stood up from her seat and smoothed down her dress. For the first time, Killian noticed that her dress was dirty and in need of some repair itself.

“I am quite happy in my lack of company, Captain. I have learned how to be on my own quite well,” she assured him and he gave her a flash of a smile. Wanting to stay for longer, his mind raced for some sort of excuse to talk to her, to be in her presence for moments longer. He opened his mouth to say something else.

“Captain!” cried a voice from above. Killian cursed under his breath.

“It sounds like you should go,” Emma - she’d said he could call her Emma - said with a pretty frown and Killian nodded. The rocking beneath his feet alerted him to the presence of a storm.

“Aye, lass. I believe it’s a storm. You should go to my cabin. It’s safest there,” he promised her, ignoring the flash of Liam dying in there that flicked into his mind. She looked stricken. “Please, princess, Emma, I shan’t be able to do any work if I am worried about you.” Her mouth opened but she simply nodded. He smiled gratefully and placed a kiss on her hand before rushing above board. A storm was never a good sign.

By the time he reached the deck, the storm was starting to get her boots on. “Smee?” Killian hollered through the storm. His first mate gave him an update on what was going on and Killian simply nodded. In the corner of his eye, he saw Emma’s youngest brother curled up, leaning against the side of the ship, a brother on either side. Clearly, he struggled with storms. Killian wasn’t surprised.

“Thomas! Leopold!” Killian yelled. Both older brothers looked up, grim-faced. “Your brother is to go and join the princess in my chambers. You can help to tie things down!”

XXX

“Em?” Emma heard from the door of the captain’s cabin, where she had sat in the chair she usually sat in. “Hey, the captain sent me down,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. Emma, having been around Will when he’d had panic attacks before, recognised the signs. She gave him a sympathetic smile and ushered him to the captain’s chair, where she knelt next to him and tried to calm him.

It took a few minutes before either of them spoke again. “I bet the captain is telling all the pirates that I’m a wimp,” fifteen-year-old Will groused. Emma chuckled and Will gave her an affronted look.

“Will, I’m sure he’s far too busy thinking about sorting out his boat to consider you whatsoever. You should be very grateful that he sent you down here,” Emma told him, conveying her own feelings on the matter. It was very gracious of the captain to consider Will’s feelings during a time of such chaos.

Will shook his head and tried to sneakily wipe away the tears from his eyes. Smiling at his attempt, Emma swiped at his cheeks herself. “Will, just because you’re not made for the sea, that doesn’t make you less of a man, less of a prince. You know the justice system better than papa, I’m sure,” Emma joked and Will gave her a laugh. “And you can handle a sword better than most men,” she continued. “The sea isn’t for you.”

Will chuckled, nodding. “I suppose the captain just wanted me out of the way, really, but you’re right. I should be grateful to be with you rather than up there,” he said with a grin and Emma nodded, kissing his cheek, before returning to her seat. “I suppose this is where you have your private dinners?” Will asked quietly. Emma nodded and Will didn’t say anything else on the subject.

“He has all sorts of books,” Emma said, making small talk. She knew Will and he might not want to speak, but he didn’t want silence either. Standing again, Emma grabbed a book from the shelf and began to read, the words soothing both of the Misthaven heirs’ nerves.

XXX

“Princess, William,” the captain announced his presence as he strode into his cabin, Thomas and Leopold behind him. “I offered your companions the choice to come and see you here rather than in the brig. Prince Neal chose to return to the brig,” Hook said with disdain. Emma ducked her head. Her betrothed was a common subject of mockery on the captain’s part and Emma felt guilty when she partook in it.

“How are you doing, William?” Hook teased. “Better now you’re below deck?” Thomas and Leopold both snickered. Emma looked over to her youngest brother who looked down onto his lap.

“Our Will’s not made for the sea,” Thomas jested, cuffing his brother over the head. William flinched and Emma’s hackles were raised. Thomas knew how Will was after a panic attack and he was being stupid and cocky.

“That’s enough, Thomas,” Emma said sternly. Thomas rolled his eyes.

“It’s just a bit of fun, Emma,” Leopold chimed in. “We all know that Will does better in a sitting room than on a deck,” he teased.

Emma stood up and glared at the three of them who were making fun out of her youngest brother, who was recovering from a panic attack caused by one of his greatest fears. “Stop it! I’ve had enough. Will might not be made for the seas but he could match anyone of you with a sword!” she admonished. “All three of you should be ashamed of yourselves. You’re so arrogant and self-important that you don’t notice that not everyone is the same as you! Maybe if you weren’t so self-involved you’d see that the world doesn’t revolve around your massive egos,” Emma said, noticing that her voice had raised.

“Emma, I’m fine!” Will shouted at her and Emma reeled back, hurt that he wasn’t happy that she was standing up for him. “I’d like to go back to the brig now, Captain,” he said quietly but firmly. Emma didn’t even look at the captain as he agreed to escort them back. She wondered how he had reacted to her little spiel there and whether he was looking at her. Closing her eyes in regret and embarrassment, Emma was grateful for the darkness that welcomed them into the brig.


	7. Chapter 7

Captain Killian Jones sighed. Before he’d boarded that bloody boat, he’d been an excellent pirate captain, who managed the crew through respect and fear. He’d never questioned his decisions. He was in control of himself. Now, he’d let a bloody princess shout at him. And he didn’t care.

He honestly didn’t care. If her brothers had done the same, they’d probably be attached to the flogging post. If his crew had shouted at him, they’d be off the bleeding ship. But this girl, this princess, she was unlike anyone else he’d ever come across. He wanted her with him all the time. He wanted to be able to look at her at any time, to be able to speak to her whenever he liked about whatever he liked.

And, now, he wanted to apologise. The very thought was repulsive generally. He never wanted to apologise. For years, he'd refused to, had killed or punished in some other way rather than apologise to anybody. But, for this girl, he would. So, he was making the short walk to the brig, to collect the princess and take her to his cabin where he could apologise in private.

Planning out his words in his head, Killian wondered why this girl was so different. She wasn’t the first girl he’d met. He'd been with more women than he could count but he’d never been so enamoured. He was acting like a boy in love, not a fiendish pirate captain.

Having been on boats since he was a child, Killian never really had the opportunity to fancy someone, to fall in love with someone. Oh, he’d fucked women, but never been in love. Never even had a crush. So, maybe that was what this was now. Fancying someone. He fancied her. It was new to him and, if he was honest, he didn’t understand the attraction.

Why was this so desirable? It just made him miserable because he couldn’t have her and, seven hells, he wanted her. He wanted her in the most innocent of ways, just to sit in his cabin and read. He just wanted to stare at her and make her smile. Of course, he wanted her in less innocent ways too, but that wasn’t the point. He just wanted to be around her every hour of the day.

From what Killian knew, you could stop fancying someone. And he would, just as soon as she left the boat. Until then, though, what was the harm in getting to know her? With this thought, Killian rapped on the door of the brig and unlocked the door. It was just Emma in there, her betrothed back on day shifts again.

“Emma,” he said softly and she looked up.

XXX

Emma was not pleased with her brothers or the captain. So, essentially, she was pleased with no one. Which meant she was talking to no one.

Leopold and Thomas had been horrid to Will and teased him about something that they knew he had no control over. They were his brothers. They should be his protectors, especially in front of the captain. The four of them should be a team, but here they were. Leopold and Thomas acting cool in front of the captain, at their own brother’s expense. Emma let out an angry sigh.

The captain, too, Emma was annoyed with, although perhaps rather irrationally. He might have known that Will didn’t like the sea, but he didn’t really have any loyalty to him. In fact, he had sent him below deck. That was actually a very kind thing to do. Still, the teasing was unnecessary. So what if Will wasn’t the most graceful person on the seas? He didn’t need to be.

Emma looked out into the darkness of the brig. She’d have to forgive the three of them and be a gracious princess. Grace wasn’t something she was fond of, if she was honest. Emma wasn’t a perfect princess. She preferred to hold a grudge, but that wasn’t really allowed. She had to be kind and thoughtful and lovely. Those were the qualities expected in a princess. A little giggle almost escaped from her mouth. Whoever created her before her parents hadn’t really put the right qualities into her. She was impetuous and had attitude and they weren’t qualities that the people loved.

“Emma,” she heard from the entrance to the brig. Her insides had a party as Emma’s heart rebelled against the logical thinking of her brain. She looked up at him. He held a lantern that lit up his red vest and black leather. It had been silly of her when she’d said he could call her Emma. If her brothers heard him, she’d be in for it, but her name sounded so lovely in that beautiful accented voice of his. It sounded like silk down her spine.

Emma stood up and crossed the brig to him. He unlocked the door and gave her a smile. Unbidden, she smiled back, a shy, unsure smile. Why was he here? She’d shouted at him last time she’d seen him. He was a pirate captain, the scourge of the seas. He surely didn’t like being shouted at, especially by a hostage.

“Will you come to dinner with me?” the captain asked her, his voice quiet. Emma’s lips flicked upwards, before she accepted, allowing him to take her arm in his. Times like this, that he escorted her to his cabin, she felt as though she was being escorted by the most perfect man, that he was taking her to a ball. Being in his cabin with him was easily as exciting as being at a ball.

Well, it usually was, but surely he was angry with her now. Being in his cabin wasn’t going to be exciting if he was shouting at her. In fact, Emma was now wishing that she hadn’t accepted his offer of dinner. Their, well their whatever it was, was going to be over after this and all those lovely memories would be marred. She should have said no and been happy forever with the memory of his attentions.

By the time they reached the captain’s cabin and he relinquished his hold on her arm, Emma was a bundle of nerves, terrified that the captain was going to change his actions towards her. What sort of pirate captain would allow a girl to shout at him and not make her pay? Emma took the seat she usually did and laid her hands on her lap.

XXX

This girl. This blasted girl. She was amazing. Clearly nervous as she sat down, Killian tried to make her more comfortable. He told her stories of how he met some of his crew and some tales of adventures with sea monsters. Slowly but surely, she warmed up to him and, by the time Borden delivered their food, she was positively smiling.

She was absolutely charming. He remembered the way her eyes had lighted up when she was angry. She was so protective of her brother, such a loving sister. In a way, it reminded Killian of the way he had felt towards Liam, the way Liam had felt towards him. 

If Killian had shouted at Liam in front of Liam’s men, Liam would have gone off on one towards Killian, to ensure the respect of the men. Similarly, if Emma had shouted at Killian in front of Liam, he would have had to say something to her. His power relied on the fear and respect of his men. Without that, he had nothing. But she wasn’t in front of the men, so, just like Liam would have, he let it go.

Killian didn’t mind that. If his actions towards her made him more like Liam, then what was the problem? Having disappointed his memory of Liam all these years, being more like him was only a good thing.

And, anyway, he loved being around her. He loved her attitude. So used to women being compliant and submissive, it was enticing to see someone with a bit of something. What would be the harm in getting to know her? She would leave soon anyway. As soon as her parents found them, she would leave. He may as well get to know her while he could. 

She was stunning, Killian considered as he dug into his meal. Her hair was golden, despite being a bit tangled. Her dress looked old and scruffy but still highlighted her figure in all the right places. Her eyes, oh her eyes. Green and sparkling when she spoke, they made Killian want to stare straight into them. They made him want to be close enough that their noses would be touching. That their lips would be touching. And, oh her lips. Like pillows, like full, rosy pillows.

“So, anyway, he wasn’t following her, so she stopped and decided to save him,” the most beautiful creature continued. She was telling a vivid story of how her parents met. It was quite interesting actually that, although they were royalty, they were truly in love. “The trolls were about to kill him and Mama, she turned them into bugs with black fairy dust, which meant that she got the ring back and enough money to get away, and saved my father of course,” she giggled and Killian grinned.

“So, they lived happily ever after?” he checked. She shook her head with another of those beautiful giggles.

“No, he had to get to his wedding,” she informed him and Hook let out an incredulous chuckle. 

XXX

It took the whole of dinner to explain the whole of her parents’ love story and she had no idea why she’d started the story if she was honest. In Hook’s stories, the royals were often the villains and she wanted to show him that they did have emotion. What better story to do that than her parents’ love story?

The whole experience in his cabin had been quite odd. She’d come in so nervous. Her hands were shaking under the table and she was not meeting his eyes. In her head, he was furious with her and she did not want to entice any more anger.

She was pretty sure he’d noticed her nerves because he’d started telling her stories in that beautiful voice of his. Why on earth had he become a pirate captain instead of a professional storyteller? His voice was incredible. He'd told her stories of adventures and Emma’s heart had raced. She would love to have adventure. Life as a royal was rather slow but as a pirate it would be heart-racing and fast-paced.

In trade for his stories, she’d told him the whole tale of her parents and he had laughed and seemed to enjoy it. It was an awesome story. Emma wanted a story like it, but she didn’t have a chance while she was with Neal. Maybe in a far far future where Neal had died. Emma almost shook herself. What a horrible thought for her to have.

“So, love, what happened to Regina?” Hook asked interestedly and Emma let out a small giggle. This was perhaps her favourite part of the story.

“Well, my parents had Leopold and then me and then they found out that Regina was going to cast a curse that would rip all of us to another land, a land without magic,” she told him and Hook’s smile faltered. Emma furrowed her brow, but continued, “she was going to do it. She was about to kill her father, because that was what she had to do to cast the curse. She had his heart in her hand and then she just stopped. His heart went back into his chest and she began to sob. Still sobbing, she magically poofed herself to my parents castle, along with her father. They were at dinner. I was just a baby. Not even Leo remembers it. She bowed to them and pressed her face to the ground, unable to face what she had done.” Hook was looking at her incredulously.

“The Evil Queen was remorseful?”

Emma nodded with a grin. “Good always wins, Captain,” she teased and his face lit up. Pleased to see him pleased, Emma continued with her story, “Regina moved in with us and she and my mother worked through their problems. One day, I asked my aunt if she had ever had a true love. I didn’t know about what had happened to Daniel so I was confused when she started to cry. My mother comforted her and then Regina revealed that Tinkerbell had told her that she had another true love.”

Hook spluttered. “The Evil Queen has a true love? Who is he?”

“His name is Robin of Locksley and he lives with us.”

The captain shook his head. “I can’t believe that even true love changed the evil queen. She and I were once acquainted and I can’t even comprehend that she would ever stop her revenge,” he told her and Emma nodded.

“That’s why it’s such a brilliant story. So, she didn’t cast her curse and we got to stay here after all,” Emma finished with a smile. She figured that she probably didn’t want to know how Hook and Regina were acquainted, especially if it was before she turned into the good queen.

The conversation drew to a comfortable silence and Emma took the opportunity to look around the cabin again. His home intrigued her. Every time she was there, his bed caught her eye and, unbidden, a flood of heat rushed through her at the thought of being in his bed with him. It was so wrong of her to be in his cabin. So improper. She was a young girl, a princess, and she was in an older man’s chambers.

Was she going to mention this and ruin everything? Was she heck. She loved being in his cabin so she wasn’t going to do anything to ruin that. When she got home, she would just lie to her parents about it all. It would be much easier than telling them the truth - that she fancied a pirate captain and dreamt about being in his bed.

“Love, it’s getting late,” Hook said and his tone seemed a bit hesitant. Emma wished he hadn’t ruined it. She wanted to stay longer. His company was comfortable, never awkward. Despite what her insides were telling her, Emma nodded and stood up.

Once again, Hook offered her his arm. Desperate to spend as much time together as possible, the pace was slow. Emma drew as close to him as possible, taking in his warmth. He would be a good bed partner, Emma considered. His warmth would mean good cuddles. She reckoned he’d be rather good at other things too.

When they were a few metres away from the brig, Emma stopped walking and Hook - Killian - turned to her curiously. “Everything okay, love?” Love, Emma mentally sighed. She gave him a soft smile and then leaned up and kissed him softly, lingeringly, on his stubbled cheek.

“Good night, Captain,” she whispered in his ear, remaining close to his body.

“Good night, Princess,” he whispered back. Emma gave him one last smile before allowing him to let her into the brig, where her brothers’ inquiry awaited.

XXX

“What the hell, Emma? Where have you been?” Neal demanded. Leopold was shocked. Neal had never cared before, unlike the other three of them. In the dark, Leopold couldn’t see his sister’s expression, but he could imagine her derision and dismissiveness.

“I’ve been with the captain,” Emma said slowly and Leopold felt her sit herself down next to him, against the piece of wall that had been agreed to be hers. Leopold’s hackles raised. He’d known she was with the captain (where else would she be?) but he hated how she was so calm about it. She was so naive.

“So it is true then? You are fucking him?” Neal challenged angrily from the other side of the room. Leopold almost sighed. It really wasn’t the way to go about it. Despite that, Leopold listened carefully for the answer.

“Oh, yeah,” Emma said sarcastically and Leopold grinned with relief. She wasn’t shagging him. “Yeah, that’s all we ever do.” Will and Thomas scoffed. “I’m not sleeping with the captain. We just enjoy each other’s company,” Emma said, a bit sleepily. She adjusted the blanket and laid her head on Leopold’s shoulder. Leo dropped a kiss on her golden hair.

“When you’re married to me, you won’t be enjoying anyone else’s company,” Neal snarled. Leopold felt Emma bristle but she didn’t say anything. Leo’s heart sank. It was as though she had no fight left against this man. She had to marry him but she could determine how it would be. 

When he was king, Leopold might have Neal murdered so that his sister could come home to him and he could look after her. These men were no good for her.

XXX

The storm had damaged parts of the ship, so the Jolly Roger docked into a nearby port town called Ritchena. It hadn’t been long since they’d docked but the men were desperate to get to a tavern. He dismissed them all but Mister Smee, who he ordered to sort the repairs, and two men to guard the brig. He trusted the princess, of course he did, but anyone would try and escape if they could.

Anywho, he wanted to spend a bit of money. He was a pirate captain and he did so love to buy things. Ritchena was a nice town in a nice part of the world. Quickly, Killian had purchased a few books that he fancied and a couple of new vests that would be tailored by the end of the day. While he was at the tailors though, something struck him.

Emma’s dress was awful. He remembered the day he’d met her. It had looked resplendent and it was his fault that it no longer did. “Excuse me, lass,” Hook said, turning as he was about to leave. “I just- could you run me up a dress?”

The girl who worked there looked surprised and Hook rolled his eyes. “Not for me, for a lady. She’s probably about your size and blonde,” he told her. “Can you make me a dress by tonight?” he requested.

“By tonight?” she said, the flirty undertone she’d been using the whole time returning. “Oh, I don’t know sir,” she said demurely. She was the type of girl he’d usually take back to his ship. He smiled at her flirtily.

“Please, lass,” he said softly, close to her face. She nodded enthusiastically.

“What colour, sir?” she started questioning and Killian began to consider exactly what he wanted his beautiful princess to be dressed in.


	8. Chapter 8

"Queen Snow, Prince James," the young monarch greeted them at the port. Snow looked around the dock with a confused smile. "I must speak with you urgently," Queen Elsa said quietly.

"Where are my children?" Snow asked desperately. Surely, they were just waiting at the castle. The queen in front of her hesitated and Snow gasped. "Where are they? Are they not here?" she demanded. Charming's hand rested on her arm.

"It appears that they were kidnapped," Elsa said quickly. "If you come with me, I will take you to Captain Scarrett." Snow and Charming hurried off after the blonde monarch, to the castle where Princess Anna and her husband met them at the door. The two royals offered their sincerest apologies, but Snow was numb. Her children, kidnapped.

"Your majesties," Captain Scarrett, the man she had trusted with her children, said, bowing deeply.

"Scarrett, where are our children?" David asked urgently. The captain took off his hat and looked at them nervously. Snow wanted to slap him.

"They- the Bela Fortuna was boarded by pirates, led by Captain Hook," the captain admitted and Snow stumbled. Charming grabbed her arm and held onto her hand tightly. "We told them we didn't have any cargo, but they didn't believe us. Princess Emma came above deck and, well, they knew who she was straight away. Prince Leopold tried to protect her but they just took him too and then they guessed that the others were there as well," Scarrett said brokenly.

"How long ago was this?" Charming asked as Snow collapsed into sobs against her husband's body.

"Five weeks, my lord," Scarrett answered and Snow's sobs only came harder. "I am so so sorry."

"Queen Elsa," Charming summoned, his arms holding onto Snow. "My wife and I will need a boat."

"Right away, Prince James. We have sent scouts out, but no news has returned," Elsa informed them, before exiting the room. Snow and Charming collapsed onto each other, sobbing for their four lost children.

XXX

"Dinner, again, Captain?" Emma said sweetly as he tucked the chair in under her. "You're rather spoiling me." The captain sat down opposite her with a smile.

"Well, a beautiful woman such as yourself shouldn't be in such raucous company as my crew," he told her and Emma laughed.

"And you, captain? Is your company acceptable?" she teased and wished she hadn't when his smile faltered somewhat. Of course, his company wasn't acceptable and they both knew it, but it wasn't something they had discussed.

"If you deem it so, princess," the captain replied with a wink. Emma's heart warmed and she let out a small laugh, ignoring unwelcome thoughts of whether her parents would deem it so. Borden arrived with their dinner at that moment.

"Now, I rather decided that your dress was unacceptable attire for a princess," Hook continued and Emma chuckled. Her dress was in such disrepair that her parents would be horrified to see her in it. "So, I visited a dressmakers and purchased you a new one," he stated and Emma's eyebrows rose in shock.

"Captain, it's very kind, but-" she began to refuse. He waved off her objections and pulled a package from under the table. Emma's heart began to stutter slightly. He unwrapped the packaging and freed what turned out to be a very pretty, very simple green dress.

It really was very nice. She would happily wear it, although it wasn't very befitting of her station. The material rougher, the sewing not quite up to standards. It was the dress of a sailor's wife, not of a princess. Maybe it was for that reason that Emma loved it.

Her eyes flickered between the dress now in her hands and the dinner at the table and she blinked back tears. Why was he doing this for her? Why was he buying her presents? She was grateful, of course she was. Her dress was uncomfortable and itchy from overuse.

For a moment, she just stared at the dress and the captain opposite her didn't say anything. "Why did you buy me the dress?" she asked softly, without looking up.

When his silence becomes unbearable, Emma looked up and found the captain struggling for words, a state that he found himself in very rarely in Emma's experience. Emma swallowed. "I- Princess, I-"

Emma didn't want to hear his excuses. All this time, her brothers had been right. Prince Neal had been right. All he wanted was her in his bed. "Right, well, that clears that up, doesn't it?" Emma said, standing and depositing the dress on the chair that had been her chair. "Take me to the brig!" she demanded.

"What, Emma," the captain spluttered and Emma couldn't bear it. Her eyes were brimming with tears at her own naivety.

"The brig, now, please, Hook," she shouted, folding her arms in front of her. Hook nodded tersely once and led the way out of the room to an empty brig, her brothers being at dinner. As soon as Hook was out of eyesight, Emma began to sob. How could she have been so wrong?

XXX

He'd heard her crying, of course he had, but what was he supposed to do? She clearly didn't want to spend any time with him, so he wasn't going to force her. He kicked over one of the chairs in his cabin and then swore at the pain. In the name of seven hells, what had he done? He'd bought her a dress. Clearly it wasn't good enough for the princess.

Or, rather, he wasn't good enough for the princess. That was more the mark, if Killian really thought about it. He was a pirate, a no good murderous pirate. And she was a princess. A fucking princess. What was even thinking?

He shook his head. He was thinking that it was an amazing love story. That she would fall for him like he had fallen for her and they would live happily ever after. Yeah, right. Obviously, he wasn't good enough for her. Maybe he had thought that, just for a moment, she wasn't a stuck up little princess, that she might have feelings for him too. But he was wrong and he had to move past it.

Sure, her face and her voice were the first things that appeared when he closed his eyes. Sure, he wanted to walk down to the brig right that second and drag her to his cabin, to talk, to fuck, to be in her company. He'd not craved someone's company so much in a long time.

But it wasn't to be. He'd got his hopes up and how stupid those hopes had been. A pirate and a princess? Killian scoffed and began to lace up his boots.

If the princess didn't want him, there were plenty of girls waiting on the dock that did.

XXX

The tavern that Killian favoured in this port was filled to the brim with whores, but that wasn't what he wanted. The owner of the tavern had a daughter who Killian had flirted with a few times. In fact, last time he'd visited, the young lady had taken him up the alleyway by the tavern. As he entered the tavern, Killian smirked and ruffled his hair.

Upon his entry, whores and other ladies flocked to him. He took a table from a lesser man and had three ladies that he had identified as non-whores around him. Killian wasn't one to pay for what he could get for free. All three women were brunettes, but not the one that he wanted. Flirting with them would do for now, though, until the one he wanted came.

It only took about ten minutes before Tara landed on his lap, whispering dirty thoughts in his ear. The other ladies, the ones he'd used to entice the tavern owner's daughter, quickly left to pursue other men. Tara was voluptuous and dark-haired. She was nothing like Emma and that was what he wanted.

"So, lass, what do you say to you accompanying me back to my ship?" he whispered into his ear, caressing her arse as he did. She giggled and leaned back against him. Her giggle was shrill and quite annoying so Killian covered her mouth with his own.

With his arm wrapped around her waist, Killian ignored the wench's father's glares and began to lead the girl back to his ship. He was going to fuck this girl until all his feelings for Emma were gone. Surely, it wouldn't take that long.

"It's been so long since you last visited me, Captain," Tara whispered in his ear and Killian gave her what he hoped was a winning smile. "I was beginning to think you'd grown bored of me."

Killian chuckled. "Bored of the most beautiful girl in all the realms? Never," he said, running his hands over her arse. She giggled shrilly again and Killian winced, before smirking at her. His ship was in sight and he hurried the wench along the cobblestoned streets as thoughts of Emma sat in the brig crying came to mind.

"You're in a hurry," she teased and he chuckled a bit falsely as he led her up the gangway. The smaller night shift, really just three crew members that Killian was unhappy enough with to force them to work the night, gave the captain unhappy looks as he brought Tara aboard his ship. Killian smirked at Albatross, who had made a fool of himself last time they were at port, causing this ban.

"Come on, Captain," Tara encouraged. "I want you," she hissed and Killian smirked, leading her below deck and to his cabin. He almost wanted to take her to the brig and show her off in front of Emma, but what would be the point?

His cabin wasn't far and, all too fast, Killian had Tara against the wall. He wanted to feast on her, to take her to his bed and forget about the blonde princess he was holding in his brig. Pinning her with his hand and hook against the wooden walls, Killian took Tara lips against his own. She felt wonderful, glorious, like all women should. Eyes closed, he ran his hands up into her hair, beautiful, blonde-

No, brunette. Eyes open now, Killian scooped Tara up into his arms and deposited her onto the bed none-too-kindly. He licked his lips and her breasts that seemed to want to burst from her corset. "Undo your laces, love," he encouraged, beginning to unlace his own pants. Tara smiled flirtily and began to loosen her corset. Within a few seconds, her breasts were out for him to see.

He smirked at her and kneeled onto the bed, burying his face into her breasts. She moaned and Killian wished that he could imagine her rather than the fucking princess with his eyes closed. Every couple of seconds, he moved so that he could see her, so that he could stop imagining the princess beneath him.

"Oh, Captain," she moaned as he ripped her skirt down its middle with his hook and then relinquished her of her undergarments. Completely naked now, Killian admired the body in front of him. Nothing like Emma.

But, as he realised as he stood up, nothing that even stirred his desire. Fuming, Killian swore violently, to Tara's confused questioning. "Get out!" he shouted at her, throwing his shirt which had made its way to the floor at her.

"What? Captain, I don't understand-" she stuttered and Killian swore again.

"What don't you understand, wench? Get out of my cabin and off my ship! I don't want you!"

Beginning to sob, the woman fled his room, attempting to cover her modesty with his shirt.

XXX

Neal mopped the floor a bit sullenly. He was so fed up of this life on the ship. Constantly on night shifts, he had no time to convince Emma that he was a decent guy, that she would be happy as his wife. Because he knew Emma and she was selfish. She would give up what her country needed for happiness. And he knew that she thought she'd found happiness in the captain.

Captain Hook. Neal scoffed. What a prick. So arrogant, so fake. Emma was so naive that she couldn't see that he was using her, using her to probably fulfil some fucked fantasy of bedding a princess. Whether he had or not, Neal wasn't sure, but, either way, he had to put a stop to it. Emma was to be his wife. Princess Major of Misthaven and absolutely beautiful, she was the perfect bride for the heir to Soseia. But not if she'd fucked a pirate. Not if she'd chosen to bed a pirate over him.

Footsteps began to sound on the gangway and Neal's eyes flicked over. The captain himself was approaching the deck. Neal, along with the other couple of men who were working with him on the night shift, stood up in a show of respect. Neal had been beaten too many times for not standing when the captain was on deck so he did it now despite having no respect for Hook.

The captain was accompanied by a woman, a whore most likely. She was curvy with dark hair and extremely attractive. Surely, the only way a bastard like Hook could get a girl like that was by paying. She was giggling, not a very nice sound, but Neal would look past it for a night with her. Any man would look past it for a night with her.

Neal was gaping as the captain led the whore below deck. Lucky prick.

Returning to mopping the deck, Neal fantasised about what he'd do to that whore. The sooner he was off this bastard ship the better.

It was only minutes afterwards, however, that the sound of sobbing drew Neal's attention once again away from the floor. From below deck, the whore emerged, sobbing and barely covered in one of the captain's shirts. Neal gaped once again. What the hell had happened in the past few minutes? What had the captain done to her?

The whore ran off deck and into the night. Neal's eyebrows raised and he went back to his mopping. He would have to wait until exactly the right time to tell Emma this.

XXX

Emma's brothers had questioned her as to her whereabouts over the course of the previous night, until finally they all fell asleep. Emma's own sleep had been slow-coming and, when she finally did slumber, it did not stick. Her sleep was interrupted by thoughts of the captain and his betrayal. Well, could it be called a betrayal when he'd always had the same intentions? It was her own brain that had betrayed her, her own heart.

How could she have ever thought that Captain Hook, the infamous Captain Hook, would change for her? He was clearly only ever after sex. It was only her foolish thinking that had got her into this situation.

He didn't visit the brig that morning, as he had been wont to do since their arrival on the ship. Since their kidnapping, she should say. Their forced arrival. Anyway, whatever. He didn't visit the brig that morning, which meant that she hadn't seen him since their discussion yesterday, since she'd realised that he just wanted sex. And that was fine.

That was completely fine. Of course it was. She'd realised that she wanted nothing to do with anyone like him. Why had she in the first place? She was blaming it all on his good looks.

"Princess."

And that bastard voice.

Why did he have to come and interrupt her while she was cleaning the galley, taking her frustrations out on the floor and table? Why did he have to come and disturb her at all? Didn't he know his presence made her weak?

"Captain," Emma replied, not looking up at Hook and refusing to acknowledge the fact that her voice wobbled. Her eyes remained focussed on the floor, even as she realised that he was coming closer.

"How are you this morning?" he asked her softly and Emma wanted to scream at him and ask why he was asking.

"Fine," she replied instead, "and you, sir?"

"I'd be better if I knew what I'd done wrong," Hook stated firmly and Emma flinched. She didn't want to tell him what he surely already knew, so she stayed quiet. "Come on, princess. Did you not like the dress? Was it not good enough for you? Were you too good for-"

"No!" Emma snapped, finally looking up into those stupidly blue eyes. "I loved the dress, but I didn't love the intentions behind it!"

Hook scoffed. "I have been nothing but good to you, Emma! I've treated you much better than either of us expected," he told her. Emma glared at him.

"We both know there's a reason for that," she snarled and Hook narrowed his eyes.

"What? Tell me what," he demanded and Emma hesitated.

"I-" she stuttered.

"Nothing?" he growled. "Nothing to say, princess?"

"I have lots to say, Captain, but I am too afraid of you to voice any of them!" Emma shouted and watched as Hook's eyes narrowed at her.

"Afraid? What reason have I given you to be afraid of me?" His voice was raised and Emma wondered if she had gone too far this time, wondered if this would be the time that he realised that he wanted nothing to do with her. "I have been kind, haven't I? I have spent time with you and I thought you didn't mind that!"

"I didn't," Emma cried back at him. "I enjoyed our time together but then you ruined it all!"

"Me?" Hook roared. "Nothing changed for me, princess. It was you that ruined it!"

Emma scoffed, "All you wanted was to bed me! All along, everything you did for me was to get me into your bed."

It was Hook's turn to scoff derisively. "If you truly believe that, princess, then you are more stupid than I thought."

"Stupid?" Emma repeated in anger. Her brain was clouded by the feeling. "I'm stupid?"

"Of course you are. Your only role in life is to play the pretty princess, marry a prince and make lots of babies. There's no other reason for your being," Hook spat at her. Emma lifted her hand and slapped him across his face.


	9. Chapter 9

A terrible dread filled Emma’s stomach every time she thought about hitting the captain. She could not believe she could have done that to him. She’d hurt him. She’d actually hurt him.

She’d been standing up for herself, but that was never an excuse. All of her life, she’d heard that no man should ever hurt a woman and she’d always just believed that no one should hurt anyone, especially someone they cared about. And she did. She cared about Hook - she cared about Killian.

It had been two days since she’d seen him. She supposed that he truly hated her now. If he hadn’t when she’d shouted at him, her hitting him would have sealed the deal. How had she ruined this? This, her one chance to find lo- something away from Neal. 

The captain was probably hidden away in his cabin, afraid to show that some little princess had bested him. What had he called her? Stupid. Some stupid princess had slapped him so hard across the face that he had cried out and flinched away from her. The thought made her feel vaguely sick, remembering the shock and hurt in his eyes.

The second she’d done it, she’d regretted it. He was going to tell her that he wanted her for more than just sex, Emma was sure of it. Or perhaps that was hopeful thinking. Either way, she should have heard him out. She was just so hurt.

His words had hurt though, because they were her deepest fears. That was how insults worked best, by using the things you truly feared. Emma had always been scared that she would end up as one of those princesses whose only job was to be a wife. She wanted to be more than that, to help people, to be a mother. For many princesses, even motherhood was ripped away by nannies and nurses.

But Emma was more than that. As a person, she was more than a princess, more than just a wife, although she hoped she would be a good one one day. She wanted adventures and to do things. She wanted to be herself, rather than Princess Emma.

When she was around Hook, she didn’t feel like Princess Emma. It was quite freeing.

She had to apologise to him. She had to make him realise that she was sorry, before it was too late.

XXX

Killian had once killed a man in front of his wife when the man had called him One-Hand Jones. He had once drowned a man who had drunk the captain’s wine. There were so many tales where he had killed someone, where he had done the worst thing possible to a man, for petty reasons. He was not a forgiving man.

And now, when a princess had slapped him across the face, he felt as though he was the one who needed to apologise. He had spoken harshly, had called her stupid. She had reacted fairly. The redness on his face had faded overnight, so that it may as well have never been there, so the slight didn’t matter to him. It would not even cause him any ribbing from his crew.

Killian sighed. He cared for the princess so deeply that it almost hurt to look at her, especially when he knew that he had hurt her with his words. His heart ached with the longing that he felt to be with her. A few times, he had approached the brig, to speak with her but had always backed away. Never before had he felt like this. He’d bedded more women than he could count but none of them could hold a candle to this girl he’d barely touched.

What he was going to do next was the issue. He didn’t know if the princess would accept an apology. She could be stubborn, he’d learnt. And how would he convince her that he wasn’t just in this for sex? It was something to ponder, certainly. He wanted more of Emma, to know more about her, and, to do that, he would have to convince her that he was worthy of her trust.

The most important thing, though, was that he had to talk to her. If they’d spoken about all of this, instead of ignoring their feelings and what was really going on, none of this would have happened. Yes, the situation was complicated and, yes, talking about it would make it real, but ignoring it really wasn’t helping anyone.

So, he would have to talk to her and risk losing her forever.

XXX

“You okay, Em?” Leopold questioned as they sat in silence in the brig that night. Emma blinked away the tears that had surfaced in her eyes once again.

“I’m fine,” she whispered to him. She was tired of never having space for herself. Even when she was alone doing some sewing, she knew that she was surrounded by 25 odd men. She missed her chambers at home, missed being able to cry and not having anyone interrupt her, missed the feeling of peace that came from sitting alone, feeling safe.

“You’ve been quiet the past few days, since we left port,” Leopold commented, a knowing tone in his voice. Emma wished her brother didn’t know her as well as he did. She was sure he could not know what had happened between her and Hook, but he clearly knew that something had changed. Emma turned away from him. He had no right to want to comfort her when he had made these thoughts come into her mind, about Hook only wanting to bed her.

“I’m just fed up with being here. I thought Mama and Papa would have replied by now.”

Leopold nodded and wrapped his arms around her. “I know, Em. I think we all did.”

XXX

Thomas furrowed his brow as he saw the captain come above deck. He and his brothers had commented on the fact that the captain had not been about over the past few days, that Smee had been controlling everything in his stead. The fact that Emma had barely spoken over the past week was not something Thomas wanted to consider as linked, though Leopold thought that it was.

Anyway, clearly, the captain was out of his spell. He’d come above deck and was discussing something with the first mate. Will looked over to Thomas and raised his eyebrows. Thomas shrugged and turned back to his work. With the captain above deck, Thomas did not want to be found slacking.

That being said, when the captain and Smee approached the area where Thomas was working, he strained his ears to find out what was being said. The subject of conversation was uninteresting, just about some straining rope, but it was the captain’s tone that was most interesting. Despite his reappearance, the captain evidently wasn’t in the happiest of moods. He was snapping at his first mate and clearly hurrying the conversation on. Usually, Hook had some banter with his crew. Today, he clearly wasn’t in the mood.

“Captain!” Smee cried suddenly when Thomas had stopped paying attention, deciding that he really didn’t give a fuck about the welfare of the ropes on the ship. Thomas turned then, however, and saw that Hook had too, his eyes wide. The whole crew, in fact, including Thomas’ brothers, watched as Emma stormed onto the deck.

Now, Thomas would never say that his sister was entirely normal but she wasn’t a complete psychopath, at least to Thomas’ knowledge. What he was seeing right now put that to rights. Hair flying everywhere, she marched over to the captain and started to speak to him. They were quiet at first but Thomas was close enough to hear them when their voices raised slightly.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” his sister said, her eyes blazing. Thomas wondered what had happened between the captain and his sister. No matter how much he denied it, they had some sort of weird connection, which Thomas suspected the captain was using to lure his sister into his bed. 

“Princess, you should be below deck,” the captain said tersely. Thomas watched Emma’s nostrils flare. Thomas nearly laughed, almost wishing that Neal was there so that he could see what he was getting himself into if he ever angered Emma.

“Well, you should be speaking to me!” Emma said back at him. Thomas saw the hurt in her eyes and feared for her more than he had before. Was it possible that Hook had already got his way with her, had her and discarded her? It would make sense that Emma was upset, if it was that. 

Hook’s eyes flared and he approached Emma. Thomas was ready to move if anything happened. “You are the one in the wrong,” his sister said.

Hook scoffed and said something to Emma that Thomas couldn’t hear. Strangely, Emma looked a bit chastised rather than angrier. Only for a moment, though, because then the anger set back into place. “You deserved it,” she said, but her eyes had dimmed and she was frowning more than scowling.

“Shall we take this discussion somewhere more private, Princess?” Hook said formally, through gritted teeth. Emma pursed her lips.

“Scared, Captain?” she challenged, her lips growing into a smirk. Hook snarled and Thomas was almost moving towards him, ready to beat him bloody, when he held out his hand to Emma and said, in a way that he could not fathom a pirate ever saying, “please.”

Emma’s whole body softened, her lips parting, and, nodding, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her below deck. When the pair had disappeared, Thomas found himself assaulted with lewd comments about what was going on below. Choosing to ignore them, he looked over to Leopold and found his brother furious.

XXX

“What in the seven seas, Emma?” the captain burst when they reached his cabin. “I have been nothing but kind to you-”

“You kidnapped me!” Emma replied incredulously. Hook’s lips thinned. “I was on the way to my best friend’s wedding and you kidnapped me!”

“I thought we were past that!”

Emma scoffed. “Given that I am still a hostage, I wouldn’t say we are, no.” Hook approached her and stroked her cheek with his hand.

“Emma, please,” he said softly.

Emma felt the hurt bubble in her stomach and she swallowed her tears. “No,” she repeated. “You’re not allowed to do that. You know the control you have over me.”

“No, I don’t,” Hook said, and he seemed a bit desperate. Emma looked to the floor, pursing her lips.

“I’m angry at you,” Emma reminded him, and maybe a bit herself, as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hand and hook on her waist. She put her hands on his chest. If she pushed them, she would have him away from her. She didn’t move them, yet. “Don’t. Please. I can’t be your bed partner.”

Hook chuckled and shook his head. Emma looked up hopefully. “I promise, Emma, I would never do anything that you didn’t want to do. I told you that, when Avery touched you.”

Emma swallowed the tears forming in her throat. All the emotions she had been bottling up these past weeks wanted to come out. “It’s alright, love,” the captain said. His smile was soft and hopeful. Emma was so scared. Scared of the future, of the present. Scared of leaving the ship, scared of staying forever.

Hook cleared his throat. “Let me get you a seat.”

“Don’t let me go,” Emma replied, her throat catching. Letting out a sigh, Hook didn’t let her go. Rather, he picked her up and sat down on his plush armchair, with her cuddled into his lap. Emma felt safe, for the moment, and a warm feeling blossomed in her heart. She couldn’t name it but it made her smile, leaning into his chest.

“I’ve got you,” he assured her. “I’ve got you.”

XXX

“It’s been two weeks,” Snow said desperately to the captain who was steering the ship that Elsa had commandeered for them. “How can we not have found them yet?”

“I’m sorry, your Majesty,” the captain said and Snow shook her head at him.

“It’s not your fault. I just- I can’t believe no one anywhere knows where they are.”

“They will, ma’am. This next port town, I’ve heard of the Jolly Roger being here before. We’ll go in and ask about. For a price, these sorts of people will tell us anything.”

Snow nodded and wandered off, hope growing in her heart for the next town, Ritchena.

XXX

The princess slumbering peacefully in his bed, Killian headed up to the deck, where the sun was beginning to set. The day shift was turning in and the night shift about to head out. Killian stared out at the ocean. Emma’s parents were looking for her. It wouldn’t be hard for them to find information on the Jolly. She was an impressive ship and very easily noticeable.

Killian wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Emma. If she left now, he would spend the rest of his life wondering if something could have happened. All he needed was to know if she could be the one that would make him happy again.

Conscious that he didn’t have much time alone on deck, Killian made a snap decision and raced for the wheel. He turned it, just enough that their direction had completely changed. He wasn’t heading towards money anymore. He rather thought he might be heading towards love.


	10. Chapter 10

“You have a lot of books.”

Hook smiled from his seat and Emma grinned back, turning back towards his bookshelf. He had invited her to eat with him again and Emma had accepted very happily. It wasn’t so much of an invitation, given that she had spent the night before in his bed and the morning sitting reading one of his books in said bed. He had spent the night on the floor and then had left her be that morning while he dealt with the ship's business.

“Oh, this is my favourite! How didn’t I see this before?” she asked, taking a red leather-bound book from the shelf and hugging it to her body. Sitting down on the chair opposite Hook, she smiled widely.

“What is it, love?” he asked her. 

“Maiden’s Fortune,” she told him enthusiastically. “It’s about a married woman who has never had sex to preserve her fortune-telling skills, as her husband demanded. She wanted love, though, and she finds a man who makes her feel loved, so she eventually runs off with him and they obviously live happily ever after.”

“Of course,” Hook commented, giving her a small smile. He looked down at his empty plate and then upwards, as though he could see what was happening above. “I should be getting on deck, love.”

Emma looked up at him with parted lips. “I suppose you have to,” she said, trying to keep her disappointment out of her voice.

His smile was wry. “Unfortunately, I do need to care for my ship, lass. She is my first and most prominent priority.” Emma frowned, which caused Hook to brush his thumb along her bottom lip. Emma stopped breathing momentarily. “I’ll be back soon. You sit and read as much as you’d like.” He dropped a kiss on her head and left her to read. 

XXX

Emma was seven chapters in when someone came to destroy her peace. He slinked into the room like a rat, his shadow covering the entirety of her book. “Can I help you, Mister Pratt?” Emma said, her tone clipped, her face drawn.

“In the captain’s cabin again, you little slut?”

Emma’s face remained emotionless. “Can I help you, Mister Pratt?” she repeated.

“Reading his books, in his chair? He’s got himself a nice live-in whore, hasn’t he? Tell me, princess, how long did it take him to wear you down? Or did he just fuck you once and then your dirty little pussy just kept crying out for more of-”

“If you don’t leave immediately, I will tell the captain.”

It was Emma’s only weapon. And it worked. The memory of what happened to Avery was clearly still fresh. The fat pirate crawled back out of the captain’s cabin. Inhaling deeply, Emma stood and closed the door, before returning to Killian’s bookshelf.

Beautiful stories were everywhere here. Emma had read parts of books about mermaids and fairies and pirates and princes, about maidens and witches and pixies and ghouls. Each story she read made her feel even closer with the captain. These were books that he had chosen to keep and each one made her feel as though she were seeing inside of his soul. She placed her previous book back and ran her fingers along the spines of a few more, until she found one that took her fancy. Encased in red velvet, the spine read in gold lettering, “Giants and Thieves”.

Taking it from the shelf, she settled herself back onto the cushioned chair, arranging the two cushions comfortably. She flicked open the book and found handwriting that she had read before. It read, “for my brother, on his 17th birthday. Love, Liam.'' Emma snapped the book shut immediately and glanced around the room, as though Hook was going to happen upon her.

Liam. Killian had had a brother called Liam. Perhaps he still did. Perhaps he wasn’t dead as she had thought, simply estranged or far away. Emma imagined him to look a lot like Killian, but older and maybe with different hair. He was a lot older in Emma’s head, but perhaps that was wrong. She couldn’t put a pin on Killian’s age as it was, although, from the state of the book, it was a lot older than 17.

Killian at 17. She wondered if he was already a pirate at that point. Maybe he had been corrupted young, perhaps by his older brother. Emma yearned to know more of this, more of him.

Lips pulling slightly at the sides, Emma opened the book again, to read a few pages. She wanted to know why Liam had bought this particular book for his brother and why Killian had kept it for so many years.

XXX

Killian came below deck soon after Borden informed them that dinner would be ready imminently. He turned left rather than right to the galley and pushed open his cabin door lightly. Emma was curled on the chair he’d left her on, reading Killian’s most prized possession, the book Liam had scrimped and saved for. Giants and Thieves, a wonderful tale Killian had read more times than he could count.

Something inside him wanted to storm in and rip it out of her hands, to put it back where it was safe on his shelf. A larger part of him wanted to stand there and watch her read it for as long as he could. That didn’t turn out to be very long.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice cracked slightly from disuse, making Killian’s lips twitch. “Is it food time?” she asked. Killian nodded and pulled the book from her hands. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Killian shook his head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“It’s your brother’s book,” she began and Killian stiffened. “A few weeks ago, when I was cleaning in here, I found another one, with the inscription-”

“You’ll find many books from my brother here. When he realised I liked them, it was an easy present.”

“Oh,” Emma said softly. Hook smiled, pushing an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “What happened to him?”

She asked it with a look of innocence, her beautiful green eyes looking up at him widely. “He died,” Killian said and then gave her a sad smile. “He was everything I had and he died.”

“I’m sorry, Killian,” she whispered and Killian felt something twitch in his chest. How long had it been since someone had called him Killian? “Oh- sorry- I read in the-”

He smiled widely then, cupping her beautiful face in his hands. “You can call me Killian whenever you want, Emma. It’s been a long time.” Her smile lit up the whole ship.

XXX

“What was it like growing up as a princess?” Killian asked her, after he had poured her some wine into her silver goblet and then some into his own. Emma smiled into it as she took a sip and set it back down on the table.

“Like you’d expect, I guess. A lot of balls and manners and riding and smiling.”

Killian smiled as Emma had intended. “And with three brothers and no sisters?”

Emma shrugged. “Leopold was always my best friend. And we were always surrounded by family. My mother’s best friend and her grandmother were there, my aunt Regina and her sister. Oh, and Pinocchio was my best friend when Leopold was busy.”

Killian’s mouth twisted. “Who is Pinocchio?”

“One of my parents’ friends and advisors, he is his son,” she told him before narrowing her eyes. “Are you jealous?”

He replies sauvely, of course. “Princess, I’m jealous of any human who has received the pleasure of your company before me.” Emma’s cheeks pinked. She was pleased with the compliment but rolled her eyes anyway, to keep him in his place. She giggled.

“What about you, Killian?” she asked, her tongue enjoying the taste of his name. “Did you have a best friend?”

Sadness took over his face and cleared immediately, leaving Emma feeling as though she shouldn’t have asked. He shook his head. “I was like you: my best friend was my brother. Since he died, I’ve just had my crew.”

Emma reached across the table and took his hand, squeezing it. “I’ll be your friend now.” He smiled at her. A real smile, not a smirk. She liked it. When it faltered, though, she squeezed his hand again. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“This is wrong, lass. Soon, you’ll be back with your parents and we won’t be able to be friends anymore.” Emma’s breath caught in her throat. He was still thinking about the ransom. She wasn’t sure what she’d thought his priorities were, wasn’t sure what she was hoping for.

“We have a while, though, don’t we?” Emma said, biting her lip. She’d stopped thinking how long she had left on the ship a long time ago, when she’d realised she wasn’t desperate to get home.

Killian grabbed Emma’s hand and gave her a rather intense look. “Yes, we’ve got a while, lass.” She held his eye contact. “If you’d like, love, you can carry on reading Liam’s book after dinner.” Emma smiled hopefully and nodded, mopping up the rest of her stew with a crusty piece of bread.

“I’ll take it to the brig. If I squint, I reckon I can get a few pages in before I go to sleep.” Killian shook his head.

“You can stay here, love. You just read until you wish to go to the land of nod,” he told her, caressing her hand with his thumb. Emma grinned and took a sip from the ale on the table, before curling her legs up under her and reaching for the book on the floor. She met Killian’s eyes over the top of the book and then shot them back to the story, smiling behind the pages.

XXX

Killian Jones was the luckiest man on earth. Although he did have a book in his hands and, every time Emma looked up, he was pretending to read, he was watching the most beautiful woman on the planet. She was just perfect. She was objectively gorgeous but then she moved and did something like bite her lip or crumple her nose or tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear and he saw her in a completely different light. She was the most incredible being he had ever set his eyes upon.

He could look at her forever.

Earlier, when she had mentioned how long they had left together over dinner, Killian almost wanted to blurt out that he had turned the ship around, that he was taking them away from where her parents were, that he wanted longer with her. Wanted forever with her.

Today had been amazing. His princess had woken up in his bed. He’d watched her wake, slowly and then all at once. She’d looked so good in his bed. His thoughts had not been easily controlled.

“What?” her voice interrupted him. He’d been staring at her. Again. Killian smirked.

“Just admiring.” She blushed and the right side of Killian’s mouth pulled further into a smile. She yawned then and took her eyes back to her book. “Lass, are you getting sleepy?” he teased. She shook her head and then yawned again. 

Killian chuckled and stood up, striding over to her chair. He took the book from her hand, placed a napkin from the table inside it as a bookmark and offered her his hook to pull her up. She took it with a giggle. “Let me walk you back to- to the brig.” Everytime Killian remembered where he was keeping her, he felt his stomach sink. It was safer there than anywhere else on the ship, though. She could hardly be left in the crew’s quarters. Killian did not trust his crew with that temptation. 

“Bedtime,” Killian said again, trying to force himself to take her back there. She’d looked so good in his bed last night -

Emma’s eyes darted to Killian’s bed too. Killian saw it happen. It wasn’t just him. She wanted to stay too. Maybe he should just ask her to stay. He’d sleep on the floor, like he had last night. She could stay forever. He opened his mouth to ask her to stay just as she said, “You’re right. Bedtime. My brothers will be wondering what is keeping me.” Killian swallowed. “Thank you for a lovely day, Killian.” 

Killian smiled and brushed a thumb across her cheek. “Thank you for the company, Emma.” He put his hand out, gesturing for her to go ahead of him, not trusting himself to touch even her arm. She took a step and then stopped, turning back around.

He was too close to her, Killian realised that immediately. She was so close. So close. “Killian,” she whispered, before reaching up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his lips.

XXX

The second Emma pulled away from her lingering kiss, she regretted it. She’d thought of nothing else for days, weeks, now. But what was he going to say? Had she lost his friendship just as she’d gained it? It was stupid.

She’d kissed him. What else would he feel he was entitled to now? She didn’t think he was like that but she wasn’t worldly and her brothers all thought that he wanted her just for sex. Had she just made a huge mistake?

“Killian, I’m sorry,” she spluttered. He shook his head. What was he going to do? Would he ever want to see her again? Was he going to shout? She opened her mouth again to continue but, rather than allow her to do that, Hook brought his lips down for a further, more passionate kiss.

It was unlike anything Emma had ever experienced before. His lips were so soft yet firm. His hand was on her hip, his hook on the small of her back. Every time he touched her she felt like her skin was on fire, like something was dancing underneath it. His tongue pressed against her lips and oh god she didn’t know what to do so she parted her lips. It was right.

Emma swung her arms around his neck. She just wanted him closer. She didn’t want them to be two separate bodies. She didn’t want them to be separate ever again. She pulled him as close as she could and her hips pressed against his, feeling how much he was enjoying this against her hip. Emma pressed herself against his erection, suddenly grateful for her godmother Red’s awkward sex talk a few years ago.

When he pulled away to catch his breath, Emma grinned and reached for him again. She never wanted to stop doing this. And he didn’t want to stop either. She knew it. Despite that, he pushed her away. Emma felt her face fall and he chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “Lass, if you don’t stop, I won’t be able to stop.”

Emma blushed at the implication. She wasn’t sure she would be able to either. “Okay, you’re right. It’s probably bedtime.”

Hook took her arm and led her back to the brig. Before they came within hearing distance, he stopped them. He kissed her once, quickly, and Emma leaned back in for more. He laughed and put his hand and hook on her hips. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you here,” he whispered. Emma smiled. She cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his lips lingeringly. 

“Good night, Killian.”

Emma wished she could say that was the end of her night. But, as soon as she arrived back in the brig, with a smirk from Killian as his final goodnight, her brothers had lots of things to say. “Good evening,” Emma said quietly, squinting to find where she’d left her blanket the night before.

“Where have you been all day?” Thomas demanded. Emma sighed, settling down against the wall, the same wall Neal was leaning on, although he was in the corner. He’d been on the day shift for once then. 

“I was in the captain’s cabin. He allowed me to read.”

“He has books?” Will said derisively. Emma rolled her eyes. “Emma, why do you think he is being so nice to you? He’s not nice to anyone else, just you. What does that tell you?”

Emma half-smiled to herself, remembering the last time these comments had hit her and she had thought deeply on them. She would not do that any longer. She knew Killian well enough now to know that they were false. 

“That you have too much time on your hands and are thinking too deeply into it,” she replied.

With that, Emma closed her eyes and lifted the blanket, to invite her brothers to join her. With Leopold’s shoulders pressed against hers, Emma leaned her head onto one and pressed her fingers to her lips. They still tingled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just finished updating all of these chapters and will be posting new ones starting in June! Thank you for your kind reviews and support and sorry for the delay in updates


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